


You Sunshine, You Temptress

by TeamDamon



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Age Difference, Angst, Bulla is 19, Daddy Kink, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Goten is 32, Loss of Virginity, Mating Bites, Mating Bond, Mild Somnophilia, Saiyan Instincts, Trupan content starts in ch 11, a wee bit of mistaken identity, aaaand now it’s a series, all right let’s see, and it is consensual, if this is squicky for you pls do not read because the age difference is a big part of it, it’s only two paragraphs early in ch 10, no seatbelts we die like men, shhhhh nobody tell Vegeta, some violence but what else do you expect from horny and confused Saiyans, yeah that’s happening now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:34:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 108,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24767053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeamDamon/pseuds/TeamDamon
Summary: “Shh,” she smiled, placing a perfectly manicured finger to his lips. “Come on, Goten, I see the way you’ve been looking at me all night. I know you wanna touch me.”Goten gripped the sheets beneath his hands hard to keep from touching her, shaking his head. “No, Bulla, this is - you’re - ““I’m an adult,” she pointed out, fingertips tracing his smooth, strong jawline, her sweet scent flooding his senses. “You’re an adult… we can do what adults do. I won’t tell anyone if you don’t.”—Or where Goten hits up a bar hoping to find someone to warm his bed for a night and gets way more than he ever bargained for.
Relationships: Bra Briefs/Son Goten, Trunks Briefs/Son Pan
Comments: 183
Kudos: 241





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone and welcome to a rare m/f fic from yours truly 😂 this ship is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine, not that I believe in feeling guilty about things that I enjoy, but I know the age thing makes it a bit dodgy for some and I respect that, so please don’t read if this is the case. Otherwise thank you in advance to any and everyone who reads this and I hope I did this pairing justice, I just love them so much 😂 (Title from Fine Line by Harry Styles)

Going out and hitting the town alone was not one of Goten’s preferred pastimes, but some nights it was simply his best option. On this particular night, Trunks was out of town on a business trip and none of Goten’s other friends were up for a night out, and to make matters worse, he couldn’t even get a text back from his usual booty calls (not that he called them that - his mother had raised a respectful boy, after all). So in the end, he had thrown on some tight black jeans and a dark crimson button down shirt and headed out to try to find someone looking to scratch the same itch as him. Man, woman, both, neither, he didn’t care - if they looked and smelled nice and he clicked well enough with them, then he was game. 

The first bar he hit was mostly dead and a strikeout, so he moved on to another and hoped for better results. When he first stepped into the smoky, loud establishment, he winced a little bit at the sensory overload but took a moment to breathe and filter out the unwanted noise and smells as Vegeta had taught him and Trunks to do as children. Back then, the purposes of such training had been for the sake of personal comfort and for battle, now he was using his finely honed senses for something a bit different - hunting, in a sense, though that was a crude way to think of it. 

Not that he cared. He could be crude when he wanted to be. He was his father’s son as much as his mother’s, after all. 

And then it hit him - vanilla, sugar, cinnamon, and a hint of bourbon. It made his skin tingle, and when he traced the scent to a beautiful long-legged woman sitting alone at the bar with her back turned to him, a small smirk reached his lips. 

Maybe tonight wasn’t gonna totally suck. 

As he made his way up to the bar, he let his eyes slide over the woman’s figure and couldn’t help but bite his lip in appreciation. She was petite in size despite those long legs but also curved in all the right ways, a tight red dress clinging to her like a second skin and contrasting nicely with her curled teal hair, twisted into a stylish updo. Goten normally found himself in bed with brunettes for some reason, though he wasn’t aware of any conscious preference for darker hair, but in any case he rather liked how colorful this woman was. 

And the closer he got, the stronger her scent grew and made his belly tighten. Either he was hornier than he realized or she simply smelled  _ that _ good. Perhaps it was a bit of both. 

Finally he approached the bar stool next to her, sitting upon it smoothly as he waved down a bartender and then said, “I hope this seat isn’t taken because if it is and you’re here with someone, I might actually cry.”

He then allowed his gaze to meet that of the woman as she turned her head to look his way, and when their eyes connected, they both instantly paled and Goten felt like he’d been  _ kamehameha-ed _ right in the throat. 

“Goten?!”

“Bulla?!” Goten yelped, his face turning as red as her dress, which by the way was so low cut it was a wonder how she wasn’t spilling out of it  _ not that he was looking, dammit, stop looking! _

“What are you doing here?” she hissed angrily, suddenly looking around nervously, undoubtedly expecting her brother to pop up next. 

“I - what do you mean what am I doing here?” he hissed back. “What are  _ you _ doing here?! Are you even old enough to drink?”

“ _ Shhh _ !” she scowled, grabbing her glass of bourbon protectively. “Shut up, idiot!”

“No, seriously,” he leaned in, expression still mortified but now concerned as well, “how old are you? Are you here alone? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to -“

“Oh, spare me,” she rolled her eyes. “I could take on every person in this entire building with one arm tied behind my back and not even break a sweat and you  _ know _ it.”

Goten frowned, unaware that the bartender had been waiting for his order but now rolled his eyes with a huff and walked away to tend to other guests. “Stop avoiding my other question.”

She gritted her teeth and whispered, “I’m 19, okay? Now leave me the hell alone, you weirdo!”

_ Nineteen _ , Goten thought, feeling a little nauseous suddenly. He had been checking out, sniffing, salivating over, and hitting on the 19 year old little sister of his best friend. 

_ Yep, definitely should have just stayed home and jerked off. _

He was so  _ stupid _ \- how had he not recognized her scent? And the hair was such a dead giveaway, too - what was wrong with him? 

Slowly he let out a sigh, dragging a hand through his hair and willing himself to stop spiraling and get serious. Sitting there and mentally self-flagellating would do neither of them any good. 

“Okay. Listen, I’m sorry I… said that, when I sat down,” he cringed, unable to look her in the eye. “I didn’t know it was you, because I… obviously didn’t expect to find you sitting at a bar you’re not legally old enough to drink at. But that doesn’t matter - point is, I won’t tell Trunks or your parents or anything, but I’ve gotta get you back home now.”

“What?” she asked with a sudden fury, her big blue eyes narrowing and ki spiking faintly. “Take me home? I just got here 20 minutes ago!”

“Then you’ve been here 20 minutes too long,” he argued gently. “Come on, Bulla - you’re my best friend’s little sister. Do you have any idea what Trunks would do to me if he knew I found you out at a bar alone and  _ didn’t _ make you go home? Or what  _ Vegeta _ would do?”

“I don’t really care what they’d do,” Bulla sneered, “because it’s none of their business. And by the way, stop calling me Trunks’ _little_ _sister_ \- I’m not little anymore. If I was, I doubt you’d have walked in here and hit on me so fast, now would you?”

Goten blushed and suddenly found eye contact very difficult. “That’s not fair.”

“Neither is ratting me out to my brother or my dad,” she shot back. “So, tell you what - how about you agree to leave me alone and I’ll agree not to tell my dad that you hit on me?”

Goten’s eyes bulged. “I didn’t even know it was you!”

She raised a brow. “You really think my dad would care?”

Dammit. She was such a brat. And right. “Bulla. Come on. Be serious.”

“I am being serious,” she retorted, bringing her drink to her lips and downing it all in one go without so much as a grimace. She signaled for another, and Goten tried to pretend he wasn’t impressed. “I’m sick of being sheltered and treated like I’m made of glass. I wanna get out and have fun, so that’s what I’m doing. And if any guys hassle me, I’ll just snap their necks.”

Spoken like a true daughter of Vegeta, Goten mused. “Okay, but what if someone drugs your drink?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’d smell it.”

“Not all drugs have a scent.”

The bartender refilled her glass and she grabbed it but didn’t drink yet. “I’m a Saiyan, earth drugs wouldn’t do shit to me.”

“What if they do?”

“Oh my God, Goten!” she suddenly exclaimed, spinning towards him on her stool. “I don’t care, okay? This is exactly what I’m talking about! Everybody acts like if I walk outside alone for five seconds I’ll die and guess what, I won’t! I came out here tonight to have a good time and dance and get drunk and that’s exactly what I’m gonna do!”

Goten hesitated, sympathizing with the girl. He and Trunks certainly hadn’t been sheltered the way that she was, in fact not even Pan had been. But certainly there were better ways of sneaking out and having fun than this? “But… Bulla, this place is… it’s one step above a shithole,” he noted bluntly. “Why  _ here _ ?”

“Why are  _ you _ here?” she shot back. “Can’t be that bad if you like it.”

Goten grimaced and decided to continue being honest with her. “Bulla, I only came here tonight to try to pick someone up. That’s why people come here. That and the drinks are strong.”

Bulla sipped her drink and looked him over, raising a brow at his semi-nice attire and well-styled short hair. “So what you’re saying is, I should leave so I don’t get preyed on by guys like you.”

A shiver shot down his spine and he didn’t know why. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”

She surprised him by chuckling and leaning a little closer to him, and he was ashamed to admit his eyes flickered down to her cleavage before determinedly staying on her eyes. “What if I told you that’s exactly why I came here?”

He went pale all over again. “You came here for me?!”

“No, you moron!” she snapped, going red. “For an older guy! Guys my age are stupid and don’t know what the hell they’re doing. Plus they’re all scared of me because of my last name and act like total pussies the minute I take my bra off.” Goten flushed at her words, mouth falling open dumbly as she went on, “I want a real man who isn’t afraid to be aggressive and knows what to do with a woman’s body. Not that it’s any of  _ your _ business, but now that you know will you kindly fuck off so I can get laid?”

Goten was speechless. He watched as Bulla threw back the rest of her drink and then stood up on those long legs of hers, tugging her dress down over her thighs and eyeing the bar’s other patrons. Nearly every male pair of eyes were on her and had been since Goten had arrived, which didn’t ease his mind at all. “Bulla…”

She ignored him and waved sweetly at a tall blonde man grinning at her from a table where he was sat with his friends. She jerked her head towards the dance floor and the man quickly got up to accept her wordless offer, and before she strode away she glanced back to Goten and said, “Feel free to watch, if that’s your thing.”

Who  _ was _ this girl? Goten had no idea, unable to stop himself from watching the sway of her ass as she walked away. She had grown up overnight, apparently, and she was ready to break free of her gilded cage and delve into new experiences. It would be fucking incredible if she was literally anyone else and not Trunks’ baby sister. 

Trunks would kill him if he let Bulla get away with this. Vegeta would then wish him back with the dragon balls just to kill him a second time. But as he watched her start dancing with the blonde man, who was probably Goten’s age, he wasn’t sure what he could really do aside from physically grab her and drag her out of the bar kicking and screaming. Then again, he wasn’t totally sure that she couldn’t overpower him - he had no idea what level of training she was at or if she even trained at all, but she certainly seemed to be full of surprises and he didn’t want to risk making a scene. 

So he sat there and ordered himself a beer and watched her, never letting her out of his sight. The plan he came up with was simple - he’d wait until she got too drunk to put up a proper fight, and then he’d swoop in and scoop her up and take her home. If she tried to leave with some smarmy guy before that could happen, then, well - he wasn’t sure what he’d do, but he wouldn’t let it happen, that was for sure. 

His own night was shot to hell, but that was beside the point. He was more concerned about staying alive and not incurring Bulla’s family’s wrath than getting his dick wet, and even beyond that, he really was genuinely worried for her. For all her bluster, she could be hurt by a man with bad intentions, whether she wanted to believe it or not. 

And so, over the next hour and a half, Goten nursed his single beer and glowered as Bulla flitted from one man to the other, downing countless drinks as she went and letting men not worth a second of her time get their grimy hands all over her. It was horrible, watching men feel her up and paw at her like a piece of meat, mouthing at her neck and grinding into her body from behind, and Goten couldn’t help but wonder how many of them would bother stopping if they knew how young she was. Not enough, surely.

He understood what she wanted and how she craved independence and physical gratification, but he doubted she’d find either of those things here. He was willing to bet most of the men she was flirting with would last all of five seconds in bed before passing out and leaving her unsatisfied, too pathetic and selfish to give a beautiful girl like her the attention and pleasure she deserved. 

_ Wait what?  _ Goten blushed and looked away, wondering what the hell was wrong with him. He’d have blamed the alcohol if he’d actually drank enough to make him think such absurd things, but as it was he just didn’t know what to think, so he pushed it out of his mind and refocused on the mission - protecting Bulla. 

But when he looked back up, all he saw was red. 

She was dancing with a man with long brown hair now, her back to his chest and a hazy, lusty expression on her flushed face as they moved together. One of his hands was on her breast, groping her through her dress, and the other was on her leg, creeping up her inner thigh. The second his filthy, unworthy fingers disappeared under the fabric, Goten was up and moving at inhuman speed. 

He grabbed Bulla and pulled her into his chest with one arm and simultaneously shoved the idiot away with his other. “Hands off, fucker.”

“Whoa, what the hell?!” the man sputtered, eyes wide and indignant while Bulla merely laughed like it was all hilarious. “Who are you, her dad?”

“No, I’m her -“ her what? Her family friend? Pseudo-uncle? Every option sounded stupid and borderline creepy, so he went with a lie that would make the guy get lost. “I’m her boyfriend.”

The man rolled his eyes and walked away grumbling, but Goten had no time to be relieved because Bulla was still giggling and now she was wrapping her arms around his neck, slurring, “My boyfriend, huh? Oooh, that means you gotta dance with me!”

Goten wrinkled his nose, her scent having changed from utterly intoxicating and  _ her _ to reeking of bourbon and other men. It made him have to suppress a growl that wanted to rumble through his chest, some primal kind of possessive instinct coming out of nowhere and making him briefly tighten his grip on her before he remembered himself. 

“Come on, Bulla, that’s enough,” he declared, wrenching her away and taking her hand to start dragging her out of the bar. “You’re drunk and you’ve let enough men get their hands on you.”

“Nuh-uh, not yet!” she protested even though she made no real effort to resist, letting him move them towards the door. “I haven’t gotten laid yet!”

“And you’re not going to,” Goten replied, reaching for the door and shoving it open. “Sorry, Princess, not tonight.”

Bulla whined and tried to stomp her feet like a child, but all she ended up doing was tripping over her high heeled feet and hurtling face first towards the pavement outside the bar. But Goten caught her, and as he held her up she groaned and weakly smacked at his chest with her fists. “You suck! You’re just like them! I’m never gonna have fun because nobody will ever fucking let me!”

“Bulla, please,” he pleaded quietly, getting a few side-eyes from passing pedestrians. “That guy was - he was molesting you right there in front of everybody. You really wanna sleep with a loser like that?”

“How is it your business if I do?!” she exclaimed, shoving at him and managing to break free of his grip, stumbling back a few steps. “My God, Goten, what do you even care? You’ve never paid attention to me before or acted like you cared so why do you suddenly give a shit now?!”

Goten’s face scrunched up in confusion, those words stinging far more than he expected them to. “ _ What _ ? Bulla, of course I care, you’re -“

“ _ I’m Trunks’ little sister _ ,” she mocked, complete with air quotes and all. “Just a stupid little kid who just gets on your nerves and ruins your fun, right? You know what, fuck off.”

She then spun around and stomped off down the sidewalk, and for a moment Goten watched in bewilderment. He had no idea where that had come from - did Bulla really feel that way? Did she think  _ Goten _ felt that way about her? Sure they weren’t exactly close and they didn’t hang out unless Trunks, Marron or Pan were involved, but they’d never been unfriendly. In fact, Goten had many memories of carrying her around on his back as a child and sneaking her extra desserts from Chi-Chi’s kitchen when nobody was watching. Once she’d hit her teen years he’d seen a lot less of her, but he’d never really thought anything of it. He certainly had never thought of her as a stupid kid or annoying pest. 

“Bulla, wait,” he called out, snapping out of it and quickly catching up to her. “Listen, I’m sorry - I really was just trying to look out for you tonight, and I don’t think you’re a stupid or annoying kid. I’ve never thought that, even when you  _ were _ a kid.”

“Just leave me alone,” she muttered just before tripping and falling again. This time when he caught her, he scooped her up into his arms bridal style and earned a gasp of surprise from her lips. “Whoa, wait, what are you -“

“I’m taking you back to my place,” he explained before taking off into the air. “You can sleep it off there and we can keep this whole thing between us.”

Bulla stared up at him in astonishment, clinging to his shoulders out of instinct, and Goten kept his eyes focused on the sky as he steered them towards his apartment. She was so quiet during the flight that he eventually glanced down to check on her, only to find her prettily flushed and her blue eyes locked on him. Her hair had come almost all the way down from its updo and was blowing freely in the wind, and he had to look away and force himself to refocus on the flight before he crashed them into a building. 

Then she snuggled closer to him, leaning her head against his chest, and he felt his throat go dry. 

_ Goten, what the fuck _ , he thought to himself, his heart starting to race.  _ It’s fucking Bulla. You were there when she was born. You changed her diapers. You’re thirty fucking two and she’s 19. Don’t even go there.  _

The problem was, loathe as he was to admit it, his mind had already gone there. And he didn’t know if he could undo it. 

—

Bulla wrinkled her nose, swaying on her feet as she took in Goten’s apartment. “This place is tiny.”

“Yeah, it’s not Capsule Corp,” Goten replied as he locked the door and kicked off his shoes. “Sorry, Princess, but it’ll have to do.”

She made a noise of distaste and made a beeline for his kitchen. “Got any liquor in here?”

“Oh, no you don’t,” he muttered, quickly flashing in front of her. She bumped into his chest and made an indignant noise that he ignored. “You’re drunk enough. If you’re thirsty I have water.”

“You are so boring,” she groaned, rolling her eyes and slumping her shoulders. “You’re seriously worse than my brother.”

“I doubt that. Now come on, follow me,” he said, taking her by the wrist and guiding her to a small hallway. “Bathroom’s right there, and this,” he pushed open a door, “is the bedroom.”

Bulla snickered and invaded Goten’s space, grinning at him sweetly and asking, “Are you taking me to bed, Son Goten?”

He narrowed his eyes and took a step back. “You’re sleeping in my bed and I’m taking the couch.”

Bulla pouted and came close again, wrapping her arms around his neck and purring, “Aw, you sure you don’t wanna try to seduce me?”

Goten scowled and took her wrists in his hands, prying her arms off of him. “Bulla, stop screwing around. It’s not funny.”

He then walked into his room and turned on the light, trying to ignore the faint buzzing in his skin as he went to his dresser and dug around for a clean shirt. He heard her moving around behind him but he pointedly ignored her, feeling distinctly off-kilter and nervous in a way he didn’t wanna think about. 

“All right, if you want you can change into this,” he said, an comfy old navy blue shirt in his hands as he turned around. “If not then -“

His words died on his tongue and his mouth went dry as he came face to face with a nearly naked Bulla. She’d taken off her dress and was now only in a matching lacy black bra and panty set, the latter criminally tiny and barely covering a damn thing. Her hair was also all the way down and spilling over her shoulders, reaching her mid-back, and her eyes were sparkling with mischief as she stepped closer to him. 

“Aw, thank you, Goten,” she smiled as she took the shirt from his hands. “You’re too good to me.”

Then she dropped the shirt to the floor, and Goten found himself frozen and useless as Bulla took him by the shoulders and steered him towards his bed. Once they reached it she pushed him and he went down, sitting on the edge of the mattress and staring up at her in a stupor as she flipped her hair behind her back and smoothly climbed on to his lap. 

The second he felt her shapely, toned ass on his thighs, he blinked and his brain kicked back in. “Bulla, what the hell are you -“

“Shh,” she smiled, placing a perfectly manicured finger to his lips. “Come on, Goten, I see the way you’ve been looking at me all night. I know you wanna touch me.”

Goten gripped the sheets beneath his hands hard to keep from touching her instead, shaking his head. “No, Bulla, this is - you’re - “

“I’m an adult,” she pointed out, fingertips tracing his smooth, strong jawline, her scent less muddled by other men now and flooding his senses, “you’re an adult… we can do what adults do. I won’t tell anyone if you don’t.”

She said the last bit with a cheeky, seductive smile, and Goten wanted to curse every living thing in existence. This wasn’t fucking fair, and he hated how frozen he was - he should have been pushing her away and telling her to keep her hands to herself and sleep it off, but she smelled so damn  _ good _ and her perfect little body was right  _ there _ and  _ ugh _ since when did Bulla think of him like  _ this _ instead of an annoying bonus older brother?

“Please, Goten,” she whispered into his ear, her breath hot on his skin and sending shivers down his spine, his cock twitching in his pants beneath her. She trailed her fingers through his hair and nibbled at his ear lobe, mewling, “I can smell you, I know you want me… and I know you can smell me too, I’m so wet…”

Using every last bit of willpower in his entire being, Goten grabbed her by the arms and, in an inhuman flash of speed, tossed her into the bed and threw himself several feet away from her, leaning on his dresser and panting. She blinked in confusion at the sudden change, but before she could say a word Goten said, “Bulla, you’re drunk and not thinking straight. It’s okay, I understand and I’ve made plenty of drunk mistakes in my life too, but I’m not taking advantage of you like this.”

He picked up his shirt from the floor and tossed it to her. “You know where everything is, so… let me know if you need anything. I’ll make breakfast in the morning.” 

She stared at him with furrowed brows, her previously devilish eyes now full of disappointment and… shame, maybe. Or hurt. Whatever it was, it made Goten’s heart ache and he turned and bolted from the room before he did something stupid, like take back everything he’d just said and fuck her into the mattress until she couldn’t walk straight for a week. 

He took refuge in the kitchen, slumping back against the refrigerator and burying his face into his hands. He was fully hard in his pants, the scent of her body and her arousal still lingering in his nose, and  _ God he wanted her so fucking bad  _ and he hated it. How could he want her like that? What was wrong with him? She might have been an adult now but she was still just a kid compared to him - when he had been her age, she had been only 6!

He slid down to the floor, sitting there internally panicking as his brain went wild with endless amounts of horrible ways this might play out and end with the entire Briefs family out for his blood. He was on the verge of a full blown panic attack before he began to talk himself down, reminding himself that Bulla was quite drunk and that she might not even remember what happened tomorrow. And if she did, there was a high probability that she’d be so embarrassed that she’d be more than happy to never speak of any of it again. She’d gain nothing from telling Trunks or Vegeta, and besides, nothing had actually happened. Goten was innocent. He hadn’t touched her. 

He dropped his head back against the fridge and groaned out loud. But  _ God _ how he wanted to touch her. He thought back on what she’d said about her previous lovers and how none of them had known how to satisfy her, and how that had driven her to seek out an older and more experienced man. He clenched his fists and his jaw, his traitorous brain suddenly flooding with a fantasy that set his entire body on fire - taking Bulla to bed and giving her exactly what she wanted, a confident and skilled lover who knew exactly how to make her body sing and feel things it had never felt before. He would touch her and taste her and make her fall apart several times over before sinking inside of her - oh, how  _ tight _ and  _ hot _ she would be - and by the end of the night, she’d know just how good real pleasure from a real man could be. 

Now even harder somehow, Goten cursed and banged his head back against the refrigerator. This was bad. This was very, very bad. 

_ He _ was bad. 

_ Fuck _ . 

—

Bulla awoke the next morning with a splitting headache and a stomach turning inside out with sickening nausea, but none of it compared to the pit of shame and embarrassment that came with the sudden onslaught of memories from the night before. 

It was like a sick joke, waking up in Goten’s bed wearing Goten’s clothes and being surrounded by Goten’s scent, then immediately reeling as she remembered how easily and quickly he had rejected her. She would deal with a hangover every day for a month if it meant being able to go back and erase the previous night from existing. 

She wasn’t ashamed of using her self-made fake ID to hit up the bar and flirt with any and every man that caught her eye. She wasn’t ashamed of dancing with more men than she could remember, or of letting a few of them get a little too friendly - it was fun and harmless, and the attention felt good. She didn’t regret any of  _ that _ . 

But she sure as hell regretted pretty much everything that came after. 

She sat up in bed and cradled her aching head in her hands, cursing all the bourbon she’d drank and her own drunken bravery that had led to her bright idea to seduce her lifelong crush. There had been zero chance of it ending the way that she’d wanted but had that stopped her? Nope, not a chance. 

And he’d been so  _ nice _ about turning her down, ever the honorable and sweet second son of Goku. He had been nothing but respectful and accommodating, and she had repaid him by throwing her clothes off and trying to literally jump his bones. 

_ Gross _ . She was gross. He probably saw her as an innocent little sister - no, not probably, he  _ did _ see her that way - and she’d still tried to seduce him.  _ What had she been thinking? _ She hadn’t been thinking at all - she had just wanted to  _ feel _ , and it just so happened that she’d wanted Goten to touch her ever since she was old enough to know what touching was. 

When she went to that bar looking for an older, experienced man who could take control and show her what her body was capable of, she had been looking for a stand-in for Goten. He was the older, sexually skilled man that she wanted to dominate and ravish her, but since she knew he’d never fill that role for her, she decided to go and look for a plan b. Then fate had been cruel and decided to make Goten show up to the very same bar and hit on her before realizing who she was. 

She’d caught him checking her out so many times over the course of the night, but she knew that didn’t really mean anything. She’d hoped otherwise but sometimes looking was just looking - he truly hadn’t wanted her. If he had, he wouldn’t have been able to reject her so easily. 

And now, after all of that, she had to pick herself up and shower off her shame and go face him over breakfast. 

She dropped her hands and eyed the bedroom window. Escape was always an option. 

But she was the daughter of the Prince of all Saiyans and thus no coward. No, she decided as she threw the covers aside and stood up, she was going to square her shoulders and meet this battle head on, just as she always did. 

Then her stomach churned and her cheeks turned a dull shade of green, and she quickly ran to the bathroom before she had to add  _ puking on the bedroom floor  _ to her list of regrets. 

About 30 minutes and one long shower later, Bulla emerged clean and wearing only Goten’s shirt, feeling vaguely human again. The smell of bacon and eggs hit her nose and made her empty, uneasy stomach growl with both hunger and lingering nausea, and she decided that she could hide no longer. She walked out of the bathroom and down the hallway and found Goten busy at the stovetop, cooking up enough food to feed two half-Saiyans, and she took a minute to watch him quietly before he realized she was there. 

He was dressed in old gray sweatpants and a black t shirt, his hair a lot messier than it had been the night before, and he was whistling absently to himself as he tended to several pans of food at once. Bulla then glanced down at herself, clad only in Goten’s shirt that was so big on her that it was a few inches longer than last night’s dress had been, and it struck her how this scene might appear to an outsider - a beautiful girl emerging from a man’s bedroom in his clothes as the man cooked them breakfast in a clearly good mood. The implications would have been obvious, albeit disappointingly incorrect. 

Bulla sighed and told herself to pull it together. She took a deep breath and Goten seemed to hear it, glancing over his shoulder and noticing her presence for the first time. 

“Hey,” he greeted softly, eyes trailing down her body for such a tiny fraction of a second she wondered if she’d just imagined it. “How are you feeling?”

“Not great,” she replied quietly, hating how awkward this felt. Maybe she should have escaped through the window after all. 

“I figured. Go on and have a seat,” he pointed the spatula in his hand to the small table outside of the kitchen, “and I’ll have breakfast done in just a few minutes.”

She nodded and dragged herself to the table, sitting down and grimacing as her stomach continued to war with itself. She hadn’t even drank that much for a half Saiyan, but it  _ was _ the most she’d ever drank in one night. So much for the natural tolerance she’d been banking on having. 

It wasn’t long before Goten came around with the promised breakfast, laying out enough to feed a whole family and placing both juice and coffee before her as drink options. She muttered her thanks and didn’t bother waiting for him, digging into the food immediately and suddenly feeling like she was so hungry she might die if she didn’t inhale it all as soon as possible. 

“Might wanna slow down there,” Goten chuckled across from her, sipping from a mug of coffee as she attacked her food with Goku-level gusto. “If you eat too quickly you’ll just throw up afterwards. Ask me how I know.”

She eyed him with annoyance but took his advice anyway, eating at a more reasonable pace. They fell into a surprisingly comfortable silence then, or at least it wasn’t too terribly awkward until Bulla began to feel the nagging need to apologize for acting the way she had the night before. 

She waited until she’d finished her first plate and had moved on to her second before clearing her throat and forcing the words out. “Um… so… I’m sorry about last night and how I… you know…”

“It’s fine,” he quickly blurted, a faint blush on his cheeks as he shook his head. “Really, you don’t have to apologize. You were drunk and… shit happens.”

She should have been relieved that he was so quick to brush the whole thing off, but somehow she wasn’t. In fact, for some reason, she felt almost offended at how unbothered he seemed to be. She frowned and kept eating, figuring if she kept herself occupied she wouldn’t voice the strange thoughts flitting through her head. 

“I’m just glad I was there to take you home last night,” he continued unexpectedly, his eyes on his food as he spoke. “I doubt any of the guys at the bar would have showed you the same respect that I did.”

Bulla snorted - she couldn’t help it. “Kami forbid, right?”

Goten looked at her and frowned. “Huh?”

“Nothing,” she rolled her eyes. “Never mind.”

After a few seconds passed, she glanced up and found Goten looking at her in  _ that _ way that she hated - all worried and concerned for her, like she was a child to be managed and guided rather than a grown woman simply trying to live a little for the first time. 

“Listen, Bulla…”

“Save it, okay?” she snapped, narrowing her eyes at him. “I know what you’re gonna say and I don’t care, I’ve heard it all before. I mean, what do you want me to do? Fall at your feet and thank you for saving me from getting laid and for turning me down when I threw myself at you? Because I’m not.”

Goten’s face went red, his fork frozen halfway to his mouth as he stared at her. “I - that’s not -“

“Are you gonna tell Trunks?” she asked, cutting him off. 

“... No,” he replied. “I told you I wouldn’t.”

“Good, because it’s none of his business.” She stabbed angrily at her third helping of scrambled eggs, aware of Goten watching in slight concern. 

“Just… Bulla, can you promise to be more careful in the future? I understand that you’re 19 and you wanna have fun and explore and that’s great, but if anything ever happened to you I’d…”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’d what? Seriously, Goten, since when do you give a shit?”

There was that innocently bewildered look on Goten’s face again, this time mixed with a touch of hurt. “I always have, Bulla - what’s that supposed to mean? I’ve known you your whole life, you’re like my -“

“Little sister?” she asked with a bitter smile. “Yeah, I  _ know _ . You’ve made that painfully clear, Goten.”

His food now forgotten entirely, Goten stared at her like she was a puzzle he couldn’t even begin to solve. She rolled her eyes and went back to stuffing her face, wondering why she’d chosen such an oblivious idiot to spend her whole life in love with. 

“I’m… trying to understand,” Goten admitted softly, “but I really don’t.”

She shrugged. “I don’t expect you to.”

“But I want to. You’re important to me,” he told her earnestly. “No matter what you think, you’ve always been important to me.”

_ But not in the way that I want to be _ , she thought as she downed a full glass of juice. She wasn’t hungry anymore. “Thank you for breakfast,” she said politely, deciding that it was time to go. “I should head home.”

“But Bulla -“

“I’ll get my things and go,” she said resolutely, getting up and walking past him. But she didn’t make it far, a hand seizing her arm and making her whirl around and glare at a now-standing Goten. 

She yanked her arm but he didn’t let go. “Let go of me, Goten.”

“I just wanna talk, Bulla.”

She narrowed her eyes, and it was the only warning he got before her hair flashed golden and stood tall. “I said  _ let go  _ of me.”

She shoved him back, and he went flying into the table and shattered it into a thousand pieces. He recovered quickly, sitting up amid the wreckage and staring at her Super Saiyan form in awe. “Holy shit - you can go Super Saiyan?”

She wanted to scream, so she did. “Of course I can go Super Saiyan, you fucking clown!” 

Then, in a fit of sudden rage and frustration and Kami only knew what else, she flew straight at him and he powered up just in time to block a full powered punch to his face. She didn’t relent, however, raining down hits on him until he had no choice but to hit back, and suddenly they were in a full-blown fight in the middle of Goten’s apartment. 

His table was only the first casualty. During the melee her fist crushed its way through part of his kitchen counter when she missed his face, and his couch split in half when she picked it up and threw it at him. Then she created several Bulla-sized holes in the walls when he threw her into them, and the bedroom door became a splintered mess of shards on the floor when Bulla let out a roar and ran into Goten, driving them both through it head-on. 

Ending up grappling on the bedroom floor, they traded blows and kicks until Goten finally managed to overpower her and get them both on to their knees, his arms locked under her arms and over her shoulders, holding her still against his body, her back to his chest. 

“Why are you  _ fighting me? _ ” He demanded through gritted teeth, his voice low in her ear and breath hot on her skin. She shivered in his hold, swallowing hard as he added, “What the hell is going on, Bulla?”

She struggled against him but only succeeded in grinding back against his hips, his masculine scent overwhelming her and making her nearly tremble. She was full of adrenaline from her anger and their sudden fight, and the sensation of him breathing heavily against her neck was simply too much. 

Then she both heard and felt a sudden sharp intake of breath from him. He shifted, pressing his nose to her neck and inhaling deeply, and her belly somersaulted within her. He could smell how turned on she was, she knew it, and this time they were both stone cold sober and there was no bourbon to blame it on. 

“ _ Bulla… _ ”

His voice came out strained, heavy, like sex personified. She let her head tilt to the side, offering him better access as he continued to breathe her in, and her body was like a live wire. She’d never felt so alive, and all he was doing was  _ breathing _ . 

He was panting lightly now and she could smell his own arousal starting to waft through the air, calling to her. It was an exquisite scent, masculine and heady and enough to make her  _ gush _ in anticipation. 

“You smell so  _ fucking _ good,” Goten groaned, sounding both tortured and turned on beyond belief. Bulla shivered, and then Goten’s arms loosened their hold on her but his hands didn’t go far. They landed on her hips and gripped tightly as he ran the tip of his nose from the curve of her jaw to the base of her neck, and she wanted to beg and plead for more but she was scared that if she spoke, it would break the instinct-laden spell that had somehow come over him. 

Then it happened - his lips parted and he ran his tongue over her skin, tasting the scent that was driving him so wild, and Bulla moaned out loud. “Goten,” she whimpered, reaching her shaky hand back into his hair and holding him close, “ _ Goten, more _ .”

He growled, and she felt in his chest pressed against her back. He kissed her neck, his tongue flicking against her skin before his lips closed over it tightly, sucking and bruising the delicate flesh. She revelled in his attention, her core throbbing and wetter than she’d ever been in her life, and it only grew more intense when his hands left her hips to trail up her torso over the shirt she still wore. 

She trembled and gasped when his palms rubbed over her breasts, cupping them through the fabric and squeezing just the right side of hard. She felt his teeth on her neck, biting lightly and driving her utterly insane, but little did she know she hadn’t seen anything yet. 

“ _ Bulla _ ,” he groaned, his right hand sliding over her stomach and down  _ lower, lower, lower _ , until it slid between her thighs and cupped her over her panties. Her hips jerked, his palm deliciously warm through the flimsy fabric, and he rubbed her teasingly before slipping his hand into the panties and touching her directly, sinking his fingers into her wetness and growling deeply against her ear. “ _ You’re fucking soaked _ .”

She whimpered and rocked in his hand, wanting and  _ needing _ more. He slid one finger inside of her, making her gasp and coating the digit in her wetness before bringing it to her clit and rubbing slowly, firmly, making shocks of pleasure course through her body. 

_ This _ was what she’d wanted so badly. A man who knew what he was doing, who could handle her and wrestle her into submission and make her yield to his touch, make her feel real pleasure by something other than her own hand. 

_ Goten _ . What she’d wanted,  _ craved _ , was Goten. 

He nibbled at her neck and kissed her all over as he worked her body, his free hand sliding up and under her shirt and cupping a bare breast. She cried out as he played with her nipple and increased her pleasure twofold, seemingly playing her body like an instrument he knew all too well, and entirely too soon she was quaking and ready to spill over. 

“ _ Are you gonna come for me, Princess _ ?”

That was all she needed to let go, arching and crying out his name as she climaxed at the hands of another for the first time. It was so much more intense than any orgasm she’d ever given herself, leaving her breathless and shaking in Goten’s arms, but he was sure to hold her close and ease her through the aftershocks. 

A lazy, satisfied grin spread across her lips as she caught her breath. Goten pulled his hand away and she turned in his arms, looking him in the eyes for the first time since all of this had begun. He gazed at her with such open lust, a hunger like none of her fantasies could have ever done justice, and she couldn’t help but lean in and kiss his lips for the first time in their lives.

It was soft and sweet, a stark contrast to the scuffle that had led them here. But when she pulled away, she looked up and watched him blink once, twice, and then his eyes cleared and he stared at her as if seeing her for the first time. 

“.... Bulla?”

Well, shit.

—

Oh no.  _ Oh no. _

Fuck.  _ Fuck fuck fuck fuck.  _

Goten looked down at his hand, covered in the dripping arousal of his best friend’s little sister, and a distinct sense of horror began to set in as he realized what he’d done. 

How had this happened? How had he  _ let _ it happen? One minute they’d been pummeling each other and wrecking the entire apartment, and the next he’d been utterly transfixed by her power and her scent and the taste of her skin on his tongue. She was like a drug, irresistible and seductive and  _ delectable _ , and entirely forbidden. 

He looked up from his hand to the young woman now sitting in his lap, her eyes dilated and cheeks flushed beautifully, her skin glowing with the bliss of her release. She was still only wearing his shirt, something that had driven him wild since the second she’d stepped into the kitchen when he had been cooking breakfast. His lips tingled with the soft kiss she’d laid on them, and his cock was so hard he felt like the slightest touch of friction might send him over the edge. 

But this couldn’t happen. It just… it couldn’t. 

He swallowed hard. “Bulla -“

Her eyes hardened. “No.”

He blinked. “Wh-“

“If you’re gonna freak out,” she said, reaching down and lifting the hem of her shirt, “do it later. We’re not done.”

She then took off his shirt and flung it behind her, and his mouth went dry at the sight of her naked save for the tiny,  _ drenched _ scrap of black lace on her hips. Her breasts were the perfect handful, toned like the rest of her, pretty pink nipples hard and all but begging for his touch. Her scent barreled into him all over again, all vanilla sugar and cinnamon and  _ need _ , and he felt his brain turning hazy again. 

“Bulla, wait,” he argued weakly, even as he all but drooled over her flawless body. “This is - it’s wrong, we shouldn’t -“

“But you want it,” she pointed out, leaning in closer. He slipped back, leaning back on his hands to put some distance between them, but all she did was smirk and glance down before placing her hand over the straining length in his pants. “See? This doesn’t lie, does it?”

He shuddered as she rubbed him through his pants, exhaling roughly, “Bulla -“

“Shh,” she cooed, shooting him a wink before using both hands to tug his pants down. His cock sprang free within seconds, no underwear present to hold him back, and he watched as her eyes widened at the sheer size of him. “Wow,” she marveled, wrapping her small hand around him and biting her lip. She stroked him a few times, glancing up to find Goten watching her touch him. He was flushed and his chest was heaving, unable to take his eyes off of her as she pleasured him slowly, and she grinned at the clear effect that she was having on him. 

Then she leaned down and, still maintaining eye contact, she swirled her tongue around the tip of his cock and Goten made a sound like he’d been punched. She closed her lips around him and started sucking as her hand worked the rest of him, and he dropped his head back and cursed. This was so fucking wrong and it was gonna screw up absolutely every facet of both of their lives but he had no willpower to stop it, no real desire to, only wanting more of her. 

How had he fallen so far, so fast? 

He didn’t have it in him to care, however, when he lifted his head back up and looked down to watch her as she worked to take more of him into her mouth. Her hand looked so small on his cock, her full pink lips stretched tight around him as she bobbed her head up and down, and an image flashed through his mind of her face splattered in his come, licking it from the corner of her mouth with a contented moan, and that was when he snapped and lost the last bit of sanity he had left. 

He hastily shoved her off of him, his eyes ablaze as he seized her and picked her up. He moved too fast for human eyes, tossing her down on her back on his bed and staring down at her like she was a feast laid out just for him. She grinned up at him, sitting up and watching as he peeled off his shirt and then dropped his pants, standing fully naked before her for the very first time. Her big blue eyes drank him in, her cheeks growing pinker and lips parting, and he liked that he at least wasn’t the only one under the spell. 

Then he came closer and pushed her back down to the bed before kneeling before her, his eyes zeroing in on her panties and a low growl erupting in his throat before he reached down and ripped them off. She gasped softly, squirming a little under his intense gaze now that she was fully bare, and as he lowered himself down on top of her he looked her in the eye and asked, “You really want this, Princess?”

“I want it all,” she confessed, reaching up and pulling him down until their lips collided in a fierce, hungry kiss. She tasted like sunshine and sin and  _ Bulla _ , and Goten thought that he could drown in her and die a happy man. Nobody had ever felt the way that she did, never had anyone’s scent and ki called out to him the way that hers did, and never had he been so thoroughly at the mercy of someone else in his entire life. He hadn’t seen it coming but it had hit him like a freight train, and he’d long missed his chance to hit the breaks. 

She was a good kisser, her clever tongue teasing his and her teeth grazing his lower lip, her lips soft and enchanting every time they pressed against his own. But he had years of experience on her and controlled the kiss, doing things with his tongue that made her gasp and clutch at him tighter, his pride soaring as a result. He wanted more, wanted to make her feel everything no other man ever had before, leading him to start trailing kisses down her throat and then down to her chest. 

His lips kissed gently over the swells of her breasts, his hands gently cupping each one as he worked his way to her nipples and licked over them. He sucked one into his mouth and teased the other with his fingers, earning a gasp and quiet moan from Bulla’s lips, and he didn’t stop until she was quivering beneath him. Then he switched to the other breast and started all over again, this time reaching his free hand down between her legs and groaning when he felt how incredibly wet she was. She was dripping down her thighs and to his sheets, and suddenly he could only think about one thing - drinking up that sweetness straight from the source. 

He kissed down her stomach, his destination clear as he mouthed under her navel and then gently pushed her legs open a little wider so that he could lay comfortably between them. Then he kissed and nipped at her inner thigh, working his way up to her center, and once he got there he closed his eyes and  _ inhaled _ . 

A shudder wracked through her body. “Bulla, fuck,” he groaned, sounding like he was dying and feeling like it too. But before he could take his first taste she pushed herself up and said his name, making him stop and look up at her. 

She chewed on her lip, suddenly nervous. “I… uh…”

He ran his hands soothingly over her hips, asking, “Has anyone ever done this to you before?” She shook her head, and the beast inside of him roared with joy - his tongue would be the first to taste her. “Just relax,” he told her softly, leaning up and pressing his lips to hers. “Lie back and let me take care of you. Trust me.”

She nodded, laying back down and for the first time that night looking truly vulnerable. Gone was the temptress taking what she wanted and in her place was a 19 year old girl nervous about having a man’s face between her legs for the first time, and it only made Goten want her more. He wanted to claim her, possess her, his instincts running wild and making her the very center of the entire universe. 

He lowered his head, letting his warm breath dance over her flesh before he pressed a chaste kiss to her clit. Then his tongue slipped out and tasted her for the first time, and she gasped and jerked in surprise at the intensity of the contact. He growled, her sweetness overwhelming his senses, and he pressed her hips down to the bed to keep her from moving as he lost himself within her. 

Once he got that first taste, he couldn’t get enough. He devoured her like he would simply die if he stopped, and it wasn’t long before Bulla was losing her damn mind. He had always been good at this, taking pride in how skilled he was with his mouth, and now she got to reap the benefits of his years of practice. The first time she came it was with a gasp and a bitten-off moan, but Goten didn’t stop at that. He simply readjusted his hold on her and slipped two fingers inside of her, his tongue tireless as it worked her back up into another frenzy, and this time she writhed around and bucked so much he had to lay an arm over her hips and power up to hold her still. 

When she looked down and saw Goten in his Super Saiyan form, all blonde hair and fierce teal eyes as he closed his lips over her clit and sucked, she lost it and came a second time while babbling his name and curses that he’d never heard leave her mouth before. Her body clamped so tightly around his fingers it nearly hurt, and the thought of sinking his cock into that tight, perfect heat - he nearly came at the mere thought. 

Once the last aftershock had left her, Goten lifted his head and wiped at his face, his mouth and chin having been utterly drenched in her essence, and then he rose back up her body while keeping his fingers buried inside of her. She was sweaty and panting and delirious with satisfaction, groaning sweetly when he kissed her and wrapping her arms around him to hold him close. All the while he gently fingered her, stretching her walls for what would come next, his cock hard and eager as it pressed against her thigh. 

“Bulla,” he whispered, his nose brushing hers. “Are you ready for me?”

She nodded, opening her heavy eyes and gazing at him with a sort of desire he’d never seen in any lover’s eyes ever before. “Just go slow.”

He nodded, his heart skipping a beat as he asked, “Is this your first time?”

She nodded back with a blush, and while Goten  _ should _ have stopped right there and refused to take her innocence, all her confession did was make him want to ruin her all the more. He growled lightly and asked before he completely lost his head, “Are you sure you want this? With me?”

She let out a tiny huff of a chuckle, cupping his face as she looked into his eyes and admitted, “I‘ve always wanted it to be you, Goten. You’ve just never noticed.”

He stared at her in shock, her words rocking him to his core and stoking the fire inside to even greater heights. He pulled his fingers from her core and brought them to his lips, only to startle when she grabbed his hand and drew his fingers into her mouth instead. He watched in awe as his little temptress returned, never breaking eye contact as she licked each finger clean, and somewhere in his sex-addled mind he realized that there was a high possibility that it was  _ she _ who was ruining  _ him _ . 

It didn’t matter. He had to have her now. 

She wrapped her legs around him and he guided himself to her entrance, stopping once he was pressed against her and looking her in the eye one last time to check that she was still with him. She was nervous, he could tell that much, but she was equally excited and she showed it in the way that she kissed him and murmured, “I’m ready, Goten.”

He kissed her back, giving into her fully and completely as he began to slowly press inside of her. He’d never had a chance, not really - after all, she was his Princess and he was her loyal, loving subject, and what else could he do but please her? The instinct to take her and claim her and pleasure her was greater than any he’d ever felt before, and if giving in made him weak then so be it. But she didn’t make him feel weak - no, being with her like this, he felt utterly invincible. 

Bulla gasped and tensed as he gradually entered her, and Goten leaned down and whispered sweet nothings in her ear to help her relax and adjust to him. He’d had virgins before but she felt different, like paradise and hell and salvation all tied into one, and by the time he was fully seated they were both panting and clutching at each other like they couldn’t get close enough. 

“God, you’re big,” she breathed, and he chuckled quietly and shook his head before gently kissing her lips. 

“It’ll get better, I promise,” he told her softly. “Just breathe.”

She closed her eyes and focused on centering her breathing, relaxing her body and her mind both, and he gazed down at her with a small smile on his face as he felt the tension ebb away from her body. Then she opened her eyes and he shook his head, murmuring a quiet _you’re_ _amazing_ before stealing another kiss. 

Soon after, Goten began slowly moving and getting Bulla used to the new sensations, paying close attention to her cues and signals and making sure he wasn’t going too fast. She was so  _ hot _ and so tight around him, and everything within him wanted to simply hold her down and fuck her until she screamed, but he didn’t dare give into those baser instincts for even a second. She was precious, rare, a treasure that he didn’t deserve, and he would take his time and make this as good for her as possible. It was the least that he could do in return for being entrusted with this task, with taking her virginity and showing her what sex was supposed to be like, how good it could be. 

She was beautiful underneath him, all pale flushed skin and wild blue tresses, kiss-swollen lips parted as he rocked slowly in and out of her, and he could tell when it began to feel good for her. She started breathing harder, her hips beginning to rock up and meet his gentle thrusts, her hand curling into a tight fist in his hair. 

“Oh,” she breathed, her eyes opening and meeting his. “That’s…  _ ah _ …”

“Feel good, Princess?” he asked, smirking when she shuddered and nodded. It was funny, he’d always called her that to tease her and get on her nerves, especially when she was being a brat, and now here he was using that nickname while making love to her in his bed. 

“More,” she demanded softly, and he was all too happy to oblige. He began moving deeper, a little faster and less careful, and her mouth fell open as she moaned and clenched around him. He cursed under his breath, having a feeling he wasn’t gonna last nearly as long as he wanted to. He reached under her and wrapped his arm around her hips, lifting her up and changing their angle, and she gasped at the immediate difference that it made. He rolled his hips slowly, hitting the sweet spot within her that he suspected even she had never found before this night, and he watched as Bulla’s eyes rolled back in her head before she unexpectedly clamped down around him and moaned, her sudden orgasm taking them both by surprise. 

“Fuck,” he gasped as she trembled and shook around him, staring at her in awe. She was  _ gushing _ on his cock, his sheets beneath them long ruined, and he was sure he’d never met another creature more perfect, more exquisite. He leaned down and kissed her, giving her a moment to recover before he started moving again. “One more, Bulla.”

She shook her head and whined, “I can’t, I - it’s too much, I’m -“

“Shh,” he kissed her again, his tone sweet as honey. “You can come for me one more time, can’t you? I know you can, Bulla.”

She groaned but didn’t protest as he began thrusting slowly once more, her entire body shuddering as he continued to have his way with her. He made sure to hit that perfect spot every time, and when she began moaning and writhing all over again he grinned and murmured, “That’s right, Bulla, good girl… so good,  _ fuck… _ ”

Something about those words made her yank him down and kiss him fiercely, her nails biting into his back as she demanded, “ _ Harder _ , Goten.”

He obeyed with a guttural growl, fucking into her at an increasingly rapid and frantic pace, and it proved to be both of their undoing. He held on until the very end, panting and moaning and telling her to come one last time,  _ come for me, Princess, _ and then she was letting go with a broken cry of his name that sent him hurtling over the edge right with her. He filled her up with everything he had, his own orgasm blinding and overwhelming in its intensity, and in that moment, at least in Goten’s mind and heart, they were one. 

They came down together, Goten eventually rolling off of her and pulling her into his arms as they caught their breath and basked in the afterglow. Bulla laid her head on his sweat-dampened chest and molded her body to his side, and Goten closed his eyes and ran his fingers through her long, soft hair. He clung to that post-sex bliss as long as he could, knowing that once it dissipated… he was going to be feeling anything but warm and happy. 

In the end, Bulla was the first to speak. “That was amazing.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She snuggled closer to him, snaking her leg between both of his and brushing her lips against his skin. 

“... Probably should have used a condom though.”

His eyes popped open. “Aw shit.”

She merely giggled and patted his stomach. “It’s okay. I wasn’t really thinking straight either.”

“No, I know better,” he sighed heavily. “I’m sorry. But I’m clean - I get tested pretty often. So you don’t have to worry about that.” Bulla shrugged, clearly not very concerned, and he noticed her wince slightly as she shifted against him. “You okay? I should get you cleaned up.”

She didn’t protest as he gently extricated himself from her arms, walking naked to the bathroom where he ran a washcloth under warm water. He glanced up at his reflection after he turned off the faucet, shaking his head at himself before turning to head back to the beautiful woman waiting for him in his bed. 

She was right where he’d left her, smiling when he came back into her view. He smiled back and sat next to her, bringing the washcloth to her inner thighs and gently cleaning her off. He paused when he noticed a few bloodstains on the sheets just beneath her, and upon a closer look, her inner thighs were also tinged red in some areas. 

He swallowed, knowing logically that he shouldn’t be surprised, but it was… tangible, undeniable evidence of what they had done. What  _ he _ had done to her. 

What he had done to sweet, innocent little Bulla Briefs. 

He didn’t expect her to suddenly chuckle and muse, “I guess you held off on freaking out for as long as you could, huh?”

He met her amused, unbothered gaze, unable to find words of his own as the weight of what they’d done settled in his gut like an anvil. She simply rolled her eyes and sat up, bringing her hand to his cheek and pressing a sweet, gentle kiss to his lips. 

“Thank you, Goten,” she murmured affectionately, “for giving me… an amazing time. It was everything I’ve dreamed of and way more. I mean it - I don’t regret anything, and you shouldn’t either.”

He furrowed his brows, features growing pained. “Bulla… come on. Put yourself in my shoes - how can I  _ not _ regret it?”

“Because I might be Vegeta’s daughter and Trunks’ younger sister, but before either of those things, I’m  _ me _ . I’m my own person, Goten. I’m not just an extension of the men I’m related to. And I’m all grown up and completely capable of consenting to sex with whomever I please.”

She made it sound so simple, he thought - and convincing. “That won’t stop them from putting me in the ground when they find out.”

She grinned and shrugged one shoulder. “Guess we’ll just have to keep it between us, then.” Then she kissed him one last time and carefully eased herself out of the bed, stretching once she got to her feet and noting, “Phew. That was sure a workout. Oh! Shit,” she turned around and shot Goten a worried look, though he was too busy ogling her naked body to notice. “We kind of destroyed your apartment, didn’t we?”

He blinked. What had she said? “Huh?”

She blushed and smiled. “Your apartment, Goten. We destroyed it.”

“Oh. Oh! Right. Uh… yeah,” he reached behind his head and laughed nervously. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll… fix it all.”

“I’ll pay for everything,” she said, walking over to where his shirt was lying on the floor. She bent over to pick it up, and Goten almost groaned out loud at the sight. “It’s the least I can do, since I kind of… started it.” She glanced at him after she pulled the shirt on only to find that he was staring again and not listening to a word that she said. She rolled her eyes and walked over to him, leaning down and pressing a kiss to the tip of his nose. “You’re cute. You act like you’ve never seen a naked girl before.”

His hands found her hips, and she let him draw her between his open legs. “I’ve never seen  _ you _ naked before,” he pointed out. “And you’re…  _ well _ . You’re something else, Princess.”

“You flatter me, Son Goten,” she teased, brushing a stray lock of hair from his forehead. “I wish I could stay longer, but… my alibi’s gonna expire soon and my mom will know I’m lying about where I was last night if I don’t get back home.”

He nodded. “Yeah. S’okay. You should get going.”

“Got any pants or shorts I could borrow, because I can’t really fly across town like this…”

Goten blushed and nodded, getting up and walking to his dresser. He dug around and eventually found a pair of sweatpants that could somewhat stay up on her hips with the drawstrings tied as tightly as they could go, and once she was dressed and as decent as she was gonna get, it was time to say goodbye. 

They walked past the chaotic mess of the kitchen and living room, Goten’s eyes widening when he saw just how bad the damage was. They were immensely lucky that none of the neighbors had called the cops, he thought as he walked Bulla to the front door. 

“Guess I’ll see you around?” Bulla smiled, and Goten’s own smile back was a little tighter than he’d have liked. She didn’t seem bothered, however, and she didn’t hesitate to reach a hand to the back of his head and pull him in for a soft but lingering kiss. 

Goten closed his eyes and melted into the kiss, defenseless and defeated. She held him in the palm of her hand now - maybe she always had, somehow - and that was just the way things were now, for better or worse. He was signing his own death warrant, he knew, but what could he do? 

She pulled away from the kiss smiling and with a sparkle in her eye. She opened the door and gave him a little wave. “Bye, Goten.”

“Bye, Princess,” he replied, his voice a little too low and eyes a little too dark. It only made her smile more widely, and the cheeky little wink she shot him was the last thing he saw before the door clicked shut. 

He let out a ragged breath and dropped his forehead against the door. 

He was, quite literally, royally fucked. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand now it’s a series because I have no self control! Again! 😂 thank you guys ton for the feedback, wow! I was expecting like... 2-3 comments max lol, so I’ve been hugely pleasantly surprised! 💙 Dunno how long this’ll be or how it’ll end up but we’ll figure it out as we go lol (I only write happy endings tho so no matter what, don’t worry! Lol). Any ideas or requests are always welcome! Thank you guys again! (lyrics at beginning are from So Cruel by U2)

_Oh love_

_You say in love there are no rules_

_Oh love, sweetheart... you're so cruel_

  
  


After Goten’s fateful night and subsequent morning with Bulla Briefs, he poured every last bit of energy he had into furiously pretending that it had never happened. He brought new meaning to the word _denial_ and thought that if he simply kept himself busy enough every waking hour of every day, he’d manage to not think about her at all and in time would simply forget it ever happened. 

It never would have worked, but any hopes of his plan being the slightest bit effective were dashed by the fact that Bulla had no intention of letting him forget. 

First it was a text that came late the same day they’d fallen into bed together, when Goten was trying and failing to fall asleep just before midnight. His phone lit up on his nightstand and he grabbed it and squinted at the screen only to feel his heart drop into his stomach as he found a message from _her_. 

_Hey, just wanted to say thank you for the amazing time. You definitely made up for ruining my fun last night ;)_

He groaned miserably and rolled into his pillows face-first. Pillows which, mind you, still smelled like the blue-haired temptress. 

He didn’t reply to the text and instead tried to carry on with Operation Denial as planned. He lasted a whole two days until she texted him again, this time with an innocent but distinctly flirtatious _hey what’s up? ;)_

He ignored that message too and opted to pretend that he hadn’t gone red all over and spent a good 30 minutes panicking after having received it. 

He also wasn’t planning on acknowledging the fact that she was haunting his dreams, dreams that were hazy and heated and always left him hard and aching when he woke up. It was never exactly the same dream, but the big blue eyes and petite, toned body within them never changed. 

He felt like he was losing it, but his torment was only beginning. One week after their tryst, Bulla sent him a photo late at night of herself lounging in a luxurious bubble bath, her breasts barely covered by the foamy bubbles and a mischievous grin on her cherry-red lips as she winked at him through the photo. _Gonna ignore this, too?_ was the picture’s caption, calling him out and embarrassing him with a single sentence. 

That time, he almost caved and replied. Instead, he stared at the picture until sweat began to form on his brow and his cock strained against his pants, at which point he deleted the entire text thread and threw himself into a cold shower. 

The day after, Trunks showed up at the dojo Goten ran to invite him out for lunch. Goten spent the following entire hour and a half with his best friend dying on the inside and feeling like the absolute worst kind of monster. 

“You okay, buddy?” Trunks had asked with slight concern. “You don’t seem like yourself today.”

“I’m fine,” he shrugged, while internally screaming. “Just tired. Long hours. You know how it is.”

Trunks nodded, then flashed a grin. “Late nights too, I bet.”

Goten’s sudden prayer for an asteroid to smack directly into his face and kill him where he sat went, regrettably, unanswered. 

By the time that two weeks had passed, Goten was becoming a comically jumpy and anxious caricature of himself. He walked around and behaved as if the words “filthy predator” were stamped on his forehead for all the world to see, puzzling everyone around him and arousing almost suffocating concern within his mother in particular. Chi-Chi’s theories ran the gamut from a sudden brain tumor to Goten getting involved with the mob, and he knew that he needed to get a hold of himself before his loved ones staged an intervention. 

An intervention which Bulla would undoubtedly be present at, laughing silently at being the only one who knew why he was so weird these days. 

And that was something that made his inner turmoil all the worse - even though she had been aggressive and had seduced him, he couldn’t blame her or pretend that he’d simply fallen under her spell and was therefore innocent. It would have been easy to do so, but it also would have been horseshit. She was only 19 and he was 32 - he had known better, yet he’d done it anyway. He could have walked away as he had when she’d been drunk and had thrown herself at him, but he didn’t. 

He had wanted it. He had wanted _her_. He’d wanted her from the moment he walked into that bar and her scent had crashed into him like a runaway train. 

He was responsible for his own actions. He was not innocent. He was guilty. And there was no going back. 

Once or twice he considered gathering the dragon balls and asking Shenron to erase Bulla’s memories of that night, but the idea only filled him with immense guilt. Doing that would be a grave violation of her autonomy, and he had already failed her miserably enough. He wouldn’t do something so unforgivable as that. He had _some_ sense left in his brain, after all.

And that left him back where he’d began, running in circles every day trying to lose himself in work and training until he fell asleep in a heap of exhaustion. She hadn’t sent him anymore texts, leading him to hope that she was giving up and would leave him alone from then on. 

But when he was closing up the dojo late one Friday, 14 days following what his brain had dubbed _the incident_ , he heard the front door open and glanced up from sweeping the floor to call out, “Sorry, we’re closed.” Hadn’t he locked the doors already? 

But then, to his shock and dismay, _she_ walked in. 

He gulped and gripped the broom so hard it began to splinter. 

—

Bulla gave him a breezy smile, the door swinging shut behind her. “Can’t bend the rules a little for a friend?”

Goten’s face pale and mouth suddenly dry as a desert, his eyes soaked her up before he could stop himself. She was the picture of casual summer fun in light denim shorts, spaghetti strapped blank tank top, cute red wedge sandals, and her long aqua hair tied up in a high ponytail. Her makeup was minimal, unlike that night at the bar, and he couldn’t say that he had a preference - done up glamourous or more natural, she was equally stunning either way. 

A small designer purse hung from her left shoulder, her manicured fingers wrapped around the thin strap, and her smile widened when he continued to merely gape at her rather than actually speak. 

“It’s funny - I came here to confront you about how you’ve tried to ghost me, and now you look like you’ve _seen_ a ghost.”

Goten shook his head as if to snap himself out of it, blinking and finding his voice again. “You shouldn’t be here. We’re closed.”

She rolled her eyes, soles of her shoes clacking on the floor as she began a slow walk his way. “Uh huh. So, what’s the deal, Goten? You take my virginity and then fall off the face of the earth and ignore my texts? I never took you for _that_ kind of guy.”

“I - Bulla, I’m not,” he replied, aghast at how blunt her words were. “I wasn’t ghosting you, I just -“

“Kinda the definition of ghosting,” she shrugged, grin still intact as she approached. “Which is a low thing to do anyway, but especially after sleeping with a virgin.”

He sputtered. “I didn’t _want_ to take your -“

She invaded his space, laughing quietly in his face. “You didn’t want to take my virginity? Really? Huh, and here I seem to remember you saying shit like _lie back and let me take care of you,_ and _that’s right, Bulla, good girl_ and _come for me, Princ_ -“

“That’s not what I meant,” Goten nearly yelped, relieved when his interruption shut her up. “I meant that I - I didn’t… _set out_ to do that. It wasn’t a - it’s not like I walked around all this time thinking _oh yeah, can’t wait to deflower Trunks’ baby sister_ \- what kind of sick fuck would that make me?”

“Kind of beside the point, though,” she pointed out. “Because even if it was a spur of the moment thing, it still happened, and you still ghosted me after.”

Goten opened his mouth to argue and defend himself, but in the end all he could do was slump his shoulders slightly and let out a defeated sigh. Regardless of how fucked the situation was, ignoring her _had_ been a shitty thing to do. “.... Okay, you’re right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have ghosted you like that.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, “because that’s the kind of bullshit I expect from idiot boys my age. Not you. That was one of the things I trusted you _not_ to do.”

His guilt rising exponentially the longer that he looked into her blue eyes, Goten hesitated before muttering, “Bulla, listen - I’m not making excuses for myself but can’t you put yourself in my position and understand _why_ this is so hard for me and _why_ I freaked out?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m your best friend’s little sister, you changed my diapers, you’re too old for me, _blah blah blah_.”

_Cold hearted like her father,_ he couldn’t help but think. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, seriously, because I don’t care about any of that and you shouldn’t either,” she replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

For a moment he was speechless. Then he remembered how young this woman was, and how self-centered she’d always been. It was hardly her fault, though - it was in her DNA, on both sides. “One day you’ll understand. I guess I shouldn’t expect you to be able to empathize, as young as you are.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean? I’m an adult, Goten, I’m not a dumb little kid.”

“Then maybe you should act like one and give me the same respect you’re demanding out of me.”

They then glared at each other for a long, tense moment. Goten braved himself for the inevitable explosion but to his surprise none came. Instead Bulla simply sighed and shrugged her shoulders, setting her purse down on the floor. “Whatever. I didn’t come here to argue with you.”

“Then what did you come for?”

She shot him a grin and waltzed over to a sparring mat. “A fight.”

He blinked. “Come again?”

She kicked off her shoes and then started stretching. “You heard me. That’s how I decided you could make it up to me - by giving me a good fight.”

“And what, I don’t get a say in any of this?” he asked frustratedly, raising and dropping his arms. 

“Well,” she rolled her neck, getting a good crack out of both sides, “not to pull rank or anything but I _am_ a Princess and you _are_ a third class.”

“On a planet that hasn’t existed since way before either of us were born,” he deadpanned. 

“Regardless,” she shrugged, shifting into position and gesturing for him to join her. “C’mon, Goten. Since when can you turn down a good fight?”

He glared at her, pretending not to have a popsicle’s chance in hell of turning her down. The truth was he _did_ owe her, and even beyond that, he was genuinely curious about her abilities after their destructive scuffle in their apartment. He hadn’t even known she could go Super, assuming all this time that she really wasn’t interested in training. But that was clearly not true. 

_Ugh_. He was so damn weak when it came to her. 

“Fine,” he relented, joining her on the mat. “No ki blasts, no transformations, no breaking my dojo.”

She smirked. “Yes, sir.”

A shiver raced down his spine. He took his stance and took a deep breath, knowing that this was a terrible, awful, no-good idea but finding himself seemingly incapable of making rational decisions in her presence. 

She struck out first, and as her intoxicating scent hit him head-on, he suddenly knew exactly how this was gonna end. 

—

Bulla felt _amazing_. In fact, she hadn’t felt this free since… well, since two weeks ago, when she and Goten had been locked into a much different sort of tussle. 

Every punch, every kick, every dodge, every shift of air that brought Goten’s scent tickling under her nose, it all set her blood on fire and left her craving _more, more, more_. She knew her Saiyan blood was the reason for it, but fighting Goten was so incredibly different from fighting her father or brother, or Pan. Sparring with them was fun and she always learned from it, but sparring with Goten was… electric. 

It also provided a wonderfully effective outlet for her anger over him ignoring her. His silence had hurt her far more than she would ever let on, even knowing the guilt and panic that was undoubtedly behind his actions. Either way it stung like hell. 

But Goten was incredibly easy to forgive. He was pure hearted like his father and honorable and intelligent like his mother, and she had been drawn to him for… forever, but especially intensely since around 15 years old. It had been then that she’d started to notice how good he smelled and how cute his goofy smile was, and how easily he made butterflies flutter through her belly. Four years had done nothing but intensify those feelings, and now that the impossible had happened and he had actually taken her to bed, she had no intention of letting it be a one time thing he’d be able to easily walk away from. 

She didn’t wanna be one of the notches in his belt. She wanted to _matter_ . She might never be able to steal his heart, but she _could_ leave a lasting mark and make sure that he never forgot her. 

And the more that they fought and traded jabs, the more determined that she became. She more than held her own against him, and she was highly amused by the obvious surprise on his face every time she evaded his best moves. She was used to being underestimated, of course, and it continued to boggle her mind how anyone could think that any child of _Vegeta_ would be allowed to grow up without intense, nonstop training. Trunks even claimed that Vegeta was much harder on her than with him, and yet everyone always got all bug-eyed when she exhibited her well-honed strength and skills. 

Her smaller stature also gave her the benefit of better speed, which was a key factor in how she took Goten down in the end. She had leapt into the air and wrapped her thighs around his head before he’d ever seen her coming, and once he was down on his back she spun herself around and pinned him down. She held his wrists above his head in one hand while her other arm was braced over his throat, and her legs kept his from being able to knock her off. 

She grinned, both of them panting and incredibly close to one another. Her bangs were damp with sweat on her forehead, her veins buzzing with adrenaline and excitement, her craving for violence shifting into a craving for something else. She knew she wasn’t the only one, judging by the dilation in Goten’s dark eyes and the faint scent of arousal in the air. She gave a little shift of her hips and _oh yes, there he was,_ half hard already. 

“I win,” she breathed, grinding gently against him and watching with immense satisfaction as he blushed and gasped at the sudden friction. “What’s my prize?”

Goten squeezed his eyes shut, turning his head away from her. “ _Bulla…_ ”

She’d have said that she wished he wouldn’t fight the obvious chemistry between them so hard, but the truth was she loved the chase. She continued to rock against him, letting go of his wrists and taking her arm off of his throat, but he remained frozen under her. She ran her fingers through his hair, purring, “It’s okay, Goten. I feel it too. You can smell how much I want you, can’t you?”

He clenched his jaw, a growl rumbling through his chest as his nostrils flared. Her heart skipped in anticipation, hoping that like last time he’d give in and let the beast inside take over. She wasn’t sure what was happening between them and if it was a Saiyan thing, with the irresistible scents and the drug-like effects they seemed to have on each other, but she didn’t really care either. All she knew was that she needed him again, now, and that the feeling was mutual whether Goten wanted to acknowledge it or not. 

She rocked herself more firmly over him, moaning as she did so, biting her lip and sighing, “Goten, please…”

His hands suddenly shot down and seized her hips, a _roar_ ripping from his throat as he flipped them over. She slammed back against the mat, looking up and finding his eyes wild and teeth bared, and her body reacted by shuddering and _gushing_ for him. She felt like prey and she _loved_ it, grinning up at him and wanting him to tear her apart. 

His nose twitched - he’d noticed her sudden flood of arousal - and his voice was rough and thick with need as he growled, “What are you _doing_ to me?”

She didn’t know, but even if she had, she wouldn’t have stopped. 

—

All he could see was _blue_. 

She was above him, underneath him, inside him somehow, and he was drunk on her. He _burned_ for her, her scent overwhelming him even more than it had two weeks before, her body and spirit calling out to him in a way that he couldn’t resist. 

Worst of all, he didn’t _want_ to resist. 

She reached up and took his face in her hands, his wild-eyed look mirrored on her own face, and she told him lowly, “Don’t be gentle like last time. I want you to _destroy_ me.”

What little sanity he had left fled him in the wake of those words. He buried his face into her neck, breathing her in deeply - vanilla, spice, warmth, _Bulla_ \- and his palm ran down her shoulder to her chest. She was braless under her tank top, his hand curling around her breast through her shirt and squeezing hard, earning a pleased gasp from her throat. He wanted to hear that sound more, his tongue flicking out and running over her pulse point as his hand trailed down lower until it reached the waist of her denim shorts. He didn’t exactly mean to tear them in half, but they certainly were no longer wearable by the time he’d gotten them off of her. 

His fingers slipped into her deep blue panties, finding her utterly soaked without having even been kissed yet. He pressed two fingers into her, groaning against her throat as her tight heat teased him, and then he slid them back out and up to rub gentle circles around her clit. 

She might have asked for destruction, but he was still gonna do this _right_ , dammit. 

She moaned softly underneath him, her hips trembling as he worked her up. He kissed his way up her neck, already so high on her it made him dizzy, his fingers never ceasing their skilled movements as she turned her head and captured his lips with her own. He growled into the kiss, all but devouring her and drinking her in like he couldn’t get enough. 

Forbidden fruit _did_ always taste the sweetest, he supposed. He’d just never known until now. 

“ _Faster_ ,” she whined against his lips, nipping at his lower one when he did as she’d asked. He looked down between them and watched his hand move between her legs, the scent of her arousal and the writhing of her body driving him absolutely mad. He could feel her getting closer, knew it wouldn’t take much more to push her over, and his instincts drove him to yank down her tank top and hungrily latch his lips to her nipple. She cried out and jerked underneath him, clutching his shoulders and arching up into his mouth, and when he lifted his eyes and met her heated gaze with his own, she fell apart for him.

He’d made a lot of beautiful people come in his adult life, but she was by far the most enthralling. She was innocent and _not_ and wild and powerful, and he didn’t once take his eyes off of her as she gasped and shook her way through her release. Once she’d sunk back down into the mat and was breathing hard as she recovered, he pulled his hand from her and brought his fingers to his mouth. 

He couldn’t help but groan. She tasted so different from other women - had to be her Saiyan side, he thought - and it was addicting. He would have dropped down and made her come on his tongue next had she not watched him lick her essence from his fingers and then _pounced_ on him. 

This time it was Goten who got his clothes ripped off by a ravenous Saiyan, his orange gi little more than tatters by the time she was done with it. “That’s what you get for destroying my favorite pair of shorts,” she grinned before pulling his shredded pants away, raising a brow when she found him lacking underwear. After quickly ridding herself of her top and panties, she then wrapped her hand around his cock, so hard it nearly hurt, and he could _feel_ her grinning as he closed his eyes and let out a quiet moan. 

She leaned over him, one arm planted on the mat next to his head while her other hand continued lazily stroking him, her lips a breath away from his as she purred, “Look how hard I made you, Goten.”

He growled between clenched teeth, reaching behind her head and sliding his fingers into her ponytail. “Shut up,” he demanded before pulling her into a bruising kiss that she had the nerve to laugh into. 

It was all a joke to her, that much was clear, and he wondered what he’d ever done to deserve this. 

She broke the kiss with a bite to his lower lip, her thumb rubbing over the head of his cock as she mused, “And here I was afraid you’d lose interest after the first time. Guess you didn’t just wanna take my virginity - you want _me_. Don’t you?”

He glared at her playful gaze. “Shut. Up.”

“Make me,” she challenged, and in a split second she found herself face down on the mat, her ass in the air and Goten’s palm smacking across it. 

She yelped and moaned with pure pleasure, and he’d never felt more like he was burning alive. 

“Be careful what you ask for, Princess,” was his only warning before sinking inside of her, granting her earlier wish of forgoing the gentle nature of their last coupling. He filled her to the brim, giving them both a much needed moment to adjust after. She was every bit as tight as she had been two weeks ago, and she gripped him so snugly and hot as she accommodated his length that he had to take several deep, long breaths to stay in control. 

Then he opened his eyes and looked down. Her ass was pressed against his hips, her head hanging low as she breathed irregularly, her knuckles white against the mat her hands were braced against. He slid his palm up her back, not stopping until he reached the back of her neck. He gripped it tight, possessively, and then he reached for her ponytail and wrapped it around his hand a few times before asking, “Ready?”

“Stop being so _gentle_ ,” she hissed, glancing back over her shoulder. “Fuck me, dammit.”

Well, she asked for it. He yanked her head back, arching her back beautifully as he began pounding in and out of her without hesitation. She’d be sore later, he knew, but he rather liked the idea of her feeling that leftover ache and knowing who’s given it to her. 

She cried out in what was undoubtedly a mixture of pain and pleasure, and he didn’t slow down or hesitate because he knew she could take it. Every tug he gave her hair made her moans become louder, and every resounding _smack_ of his hips against her ass left them both reeling. He could stay inside of her forever if he could, drowning in her delicious scent and the heat of her body, feeling as if she’d been _made_ to fit him. 

It was an absurd thought, but it came without permission and wouldn’t leave his brain. Neither would his desire to sink his teeth into her flesh and declare her _mine, mine, mine_ , but he reined in that dangerous urge and pulled her up against his chest and kissed her instead. The hand that had gripped her ponytail was now splayed under her breasts, holding her up against him as he fucked up into her and plundered her mouth with his tongue. Her fingers were buried in his hair and she whimpered when the kiss ended, leaning her head back and catching his eye as she gazed up at him. 

He nearly froze and lost his rhythm when his eyes met hers. She was staring up at him with more than just lust and heat. Her usually guarded blue eyes were open and soft and full of something he was far too terrified to acknowledge. Whatever it was, it made his heart clench and breath leave his lungs, and he buried his face in her neck and started fucking her harder to save himself. 

She moaned brokenly at the increase in the already-punishing pace, gasping when his hand snaked between her legs to hasten her orgasm. He was barely hanging on, recklessly sucking bruises into her neck, biting down on her skin to keep from babbling inane words he couldn’t take back but desperately wanted to say. He’d never been like this, not with anyone, and it scared him as much as it excited him. 

She really _was_ ruining him, and he was letting it happen and begging for more - brought to his knees by the teenage Princess of their dead home world. 

“Goten,” she gasped, her body starting to shake and tense around him as she clawed frantically at his hair. “Say - say something, I want…”

He understood, somehow, lifting his head and pressing his lips to her ear and whispering between heavy pants, “You like my voice, Princess?”

“Oh, God,” she moaned, eyes rolling shut and flushing hard down to her belly. “More, please, more…”

“You’re so fucking perfect, Bulla,” he groaned, self-control fraying thin as they each danced on the edge of their ends. “So tight and hot and _sweet_ ,” his fingers moved faster on her clit and his free hand squeezed her breast hard, “ _my beautiful princess_.”

She clamped down on him, taking him over the edge with her as she cried out in ecstasy. He clutched her so tightly it would have broken a mere human woman, spilling deep inside of her and losing himself within her depths. Nothing about what they were doing felt wrong when they were like this - instead it felt natural and _right_ , like he had somehow always been destined to end up exactly where he was. 

He couldn’t even begin to make sense of it, but he wasn’t interested in trying anyway. Instead he laid them down on the mat side by side, pulling Bulla tight with her back to his chest, and he closed his eyes contentedly as he buried his nose into her hair and enjoyed the afterglow. 

“Mmm,” she hummed after a few moments, interlacing their fingers as his hand rested on her belly. “ _Wow_. I thought the first time was amazing, but this was… something else.”

He pressed a kiss into her hair and sighed, eyes still closed. “Gonna have to trash this mat and get a new one. No amount of bleach will make me feel right about sparring with kids on it after tonight.”

She giggled, the sound airy and light. Carefree, like she didn’t have a single stressor in the world. “Aw, too bad. I was kinda hoping it would become our special mat.”

He groaned and reluctantly pulled away from her, sitting up and surveying their clothing situation in dismay. “.... Good thing I keep spare clothes here.”

“Do you have to get up so soon?” she asked, rolling on to her back and reaching out to trail her fingers down his arm. “I was enjoying this.”

“I really need to finish closing up,” he muttered, glancing at the clock on the wall and wincing. “But stay here and I’ll get a towel to clean you up and -“

He suddenly froze and paled. Bulla’s own eyes widened with concern and she asked, “What? What’s wrong?”

“ _Fucking goddamn fuck_ , we didn’t use a fucking condom _again_!” he exclaimed, wanting to bang his head into the nearest 6 inch steel wall. How could he be so careless, so utterly idiotic? He’d always been meticulous with condoms in the past, and now he only thought of them five minutes after the fact. 

But Bulla merely rolled her eyes and patted his back. “Dude, I’ve been on the pill since I was like 14. Don’t worry, you’re not gonna knock me up.”

He looked back at her in surprise, hope swelling in his chest. “Really?”

“Yes,” she clicked her tongue at him with a smile. “Puberty was weird for me and my hormones were all out of whack, so I went on the pill pretty much as soon as I could. So don’t worry,” she sat up and leaned in close to him, grasping his chin and laying a little kiss on his lips. “I won’t be carrying any little spiky-haired Goten Jrs anytime soon.”

He gave her a flat look. “That’s not very funny.”

She sighed and shifted closer to him, making herself at home on his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck. “Okay, fine. How about this… I kinda like doing it without condoms because I like the way it feels when you come inside me.”

Goten groaned and dropped his forehead on her shoulder. “Are you _trying_ to kill me?”

She snickered and ran her nails along the nape of his neck. “Maybe. You’re really cute when you blush.”

He let out a deep sigh and raised his head, running his eyes over the beautiful naked girl in his lap. Her neck was covered in love bites and there were finger-shaped bruises forming on her hips, and he was shocked at his own boldness. He traced his fingers over the marks on her neck and muttered, “I shouldn’t have left these, I’m sorry.”

She shrugged. “That’s what full coverage concealer’s for. Can you stop being so damn guilty about everything?”

“Maybe if I wake up tomorrow and you’re suddenly ten years older and not your brother’s sister,” he replied, a tad annoyed at her continued blasé attitude about it all. “But since that’s impossible no, Bulla, I can’t flip a switch and suddenly not feel like shit about fucking you.”

She ran a finger down his chest, between his pecs. “And yet when you _are_ fucking me you sure sing a different tune.”

He caught her wrist and leveled a soft glare in her direction. “Bulla, what do you _want_ from me?”

She grinned. “Isn’t it obvious?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Be serious.”

Her grin faded. She blinked and looked down, a faint blush touching her cheeks. “It’s just sex, Goten. Get a grip.”

“You’re 19, Bulla, and before me you were a virgin. What do you know about casual sex?”

Her eyes snapped up to his and she pulled her wrist from his grip. “I’m young, Goten, I’m not an idiot.”

“I didn’t say you were, but -“

Bulla pushed away from him and got to her feet. “Whatever, I don’t wanna hear it. Where’s the spare clothes you were talking about?”

He sighed and pointed behind him. “My office.”

She scooped up her tank top and walked to said office with her head held high, and Goten ran his hands through his hair and wished he could just… he didn’t even know, if he was being honest. His brain was being pulled in a thousand different directions, not to mention his heart, and he couldn’t believe he’d gone and done this a _second_ time. 

How would he ever be able to look Trunks in the eye again? 

A fresh, untorn gi identical to his other one being tossed into his face roused him from his thoughts. He looked up and found Bulla standing over him, having found a pair of sweatpants that semi-fit her with the hems rolled up, and her arms were crossed. 

“... Thanks,” he muttered as he stood up and began dressing, feeling a little unexpectedly self conscious at the way that she stood there and watched. 

Once he was done, she reached for her purse and said, “I almost forgot, I brought back your clothes from the other night.”

She handed him a capsule, and he raised a brow as he glanced to the borrowed pants she wore. “Gonna use those as an excuse to come around again?”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you,” she smiled deceptively sweetly. “No, next time you’re gonna come to me.”

This time both of his brows hit his hairline. “... _Really_?”

“Mhm,” she nodded, stepping up to him and slipping her arms around his neck once more, “because chasing you around is fun and all, but I think I wanna be the one being chased for once.”

“That’s not gonna happen,” Goten told her, his tone serious even as his hands wrapped around her waist. “This needs to stop, Bulla. This can’t happen again. It _won’t_ happen again.”

She looked up at him from under her eyelashes. “Wanna bet?”

Any answer he may have had got lost in the kiss that she then drew him into, and despite his tough words, Goten melted hopelessly into it. He couldn’t think straight when she was this close, her scent and her taste and even her lightly fluctuating ki calling out to him and pulling him in like a moth to a flame. He hated himself for giving in, but the idea of denying her seemed almost unthinkable. 

Maybe she really was right. Maybe he _would_ come to her next. 

She pulled away from the kiss with a small smirk on her lips, clearly unbothered by the conflicted, mildly tortured look on Goten’s face. “I’ll see you around,” she said lightly as she turned around and sauntered away, making a tank top and loose sweats look better than the finest lingerie on any of his previous lovers ever could. 

She opened the front door and tossed him a playful smile over her shoulder. “Don’t make me wait too long, okay?”

Then she was gone, disappearing into the night in a flash of red lips and blue tresses, and Goten stared after her long after she’d left his sight.

Without looking away, he extended his hand and shot a small, controlled ki blast to the mat they’d fucked on. It evaporated into a pile of ash, and he only wished that he could take care of _everything_ so easily and cleanly. 

Instead, he was only digging his grave deeper. And he had a feeling he wasn’t done yet. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trunks asks Goten to keep an eye on Bulla while he and their parents are away. What could possibly go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for your comments & kudos!! I’m so excited that people are actually reading this and this ship still has fans! I’m late to the DBZ fandom (sort of, loved it as a kid and just got back into it this last year) and I’m still discovering so many ships and I love almost all of them 😂 hope you guys like this chapter! Still not totally sure where this story’s gonna end up but we’ll find out together I guess 😂💙

Goten gulped, sheer terror gripping his heart and veins turning to ice as he focused every last bit of willpower he had on maintaining a straight face. He could _not_ give himself away - no matter what, he had to keep his cool. 

“You… want me to… check on Bulla while you and your parents are away?”

“I know it’s a drag,” Trunks said sympathetically, focused on digging into the massive steak on his plate, “but my mom and dad are going on vacation together for the first time in _years_ and I can’t get out of this damn trip overseas. And _yeah_ my grandparents will be home with her but you know them - they’re so laid back and carefree, she could blow the whole place up and they’d just laugh and pop a backup capsule home until we got back.”

Goten’s palms were sweating, and he hoped that his eyes didn’t betray just how blood-curdling his internal screams were. “Yeah, but… when you say check in on her, what do you mean exactly?”

“Don’t worry,” Trunks shrugged, “I don’t mean babysitting her or anything like that. Just do some flybys, check on her ki, make sure she isn’t throwing giant parties or letting creeps stay the night.”

Goten could hardly believe it was possible, but his heart began to sink even more. “... Is that something that happens often?”

“Parties, no. Creeps also no, but that’s because of my father. She knows better than to try any shit with him under the same roof. With all of us being gone though, all bets are off. I know _I_ would have taken advantage of the situation at her age.”

“Why me though? Can’t… Pan keep an eye on her?”

Trunks gave Goten a flat look. “Pan is 20 and just as hormonal and reckless as my sister, so no.”

Goten frowned, grasping at straws. “... Piccolo?”

Trunks laughed. “Listen, Ten, I get it and I’m sure you’ve got a thousand better things to do with your time than check in on my little sister a couple times a day, but I need this from you so me and my parents can have some peace of mind, okay?”

Goten sighed, knowing that saying no was never an option. It’s not like he had anything better to do, plus Capsule Corp was on his way home from the dojo. And his reasons for his hesitancy weren’t ones that he could share with anyone, least of all Trunks. 

He was fucked. 

“Yeah, don’t worry,” he finally nodded. “I’ll do it.”

Trunks was visibly relieved, and Goten’s guilt reached impossible new heights. “Thanks, man. I’ll tell you what, that girl has been trying us _all_ lately.”

“Really? How?” Goten asked, though he was fairly sure he didn’t actually want to know. 

“Honestly, she’s just like I was when I was 19,” Trunks replied. “Spoiled, hormonal, wanting independence but not responsibility, thinking she knows everything and we’re all just lame. Only difference is, she’s Daddy’s little princess so she gets away with everything I couldn’t. That and, objectively speaking, she’s even smarter than I am.”

“Is she?” Goten asked, trying to sound casual and hoping it was working. Thankfully, Trunks didn’t seem to suspect a thing. Then again, why would he? 

Trunks nodded, reaching for his glass of sparkling water. “I’m smart, but I’m not quite on the same level as my mother. She is. Then throw in my father’s pride and a giant dose of manipulation, and you’ve got my sister. I mean, don’t get me wrong, she’s great and I love her to death, but holy _shit_ she’s a handful. She plays both my parents like fucking fiddles and they don’t even know it half the time.”

Goten chuckled. _That_ he could see. Ever since she was a toddler, Bulla had always known how to get exactly what she wanted. He could remember her being all of 3 years old and looking up at his 16 year old self with her big blue eyes and pouting and instantly getting whatever she’d wanted, usually some candy or a ride on his shoulders. 

His stomach twisted with shame and disgust. He really _was_ a sick fuck. 

“But yeah, if you check in and some shit’s happening, just call me or my mom and we’ll deal with it. You won’t have to step in unless she’s in danger.” Trunks then chuckled and noted, “Course, only way she’d be in actual danger is if your dad snapped one day and went evil for some reason, but that’s beside the point.”

Goten’s head tilted in confusion. Goku was the only one who could conceivably pose a risk to Bulla? Just how powerful _was_ she? 

Goten opened his mouth to ask, but Trunks’ cell phone rang and he muttered an apology before taking it. Goten stayed silent and picked at his food, wondering once again why the universe had such a cruel sense of humor. Then again, being a piece of shit, he supposed he deserved things like this. Trunks deserved a better best friend than one who was hiding a despicable, unforgivable secret from him and who couldn’t be trusted to look after his little sister without possibly ending up fucking her at some point. 

Goten had always thought he was a decent guy. He was loyal to his friends and family and put them first. He worked hard and made an honest living. He’d slept with a lot of people but he’d always been honest with them and treated them well, and he never led any of them on. He tried to always do the right thing and make his parents proud, and be a good son, brother, uncle and friend. A good man. 

But good men didn’t sleep with the barely legal baby sisters of their best friends, did they? 

He’d never had a reason to hate himself until now, and _Kami_ did he _hate_ himself. But he had no choice now but to suck it up and do this favor for Trunks, even if it killed him. 

He could only imagine all the ways that it could - and likely would - all go spectacularly, _hilariously_ wrong. 

—

A week later, Goten’s babysitting duty officially began. It had been nearly a month since he and Bulla had first slept together, and now for the next five days, Goten was in charge of her protection. 

The first day wasn’t so bad and gave Goten a false sense of hope that the rest of the week would be surprisingly bearable. Bulla stayed home that day and spent most of it on the phone or training, according to his three “patrols”. Each time he flew by he made sure to suppress his energy so that she wouldn’t notice his presence, and he began to think that maybe this week wouldn’t be pure hell after all. 

On the second day, Bulla spent the first half in her own private lab. Then later on she had a few female friends over for a mini-pool party, and besides some beer drinking and noisy laughter, they all behaved themselves. Goten was pretty sure Bulla hadn’t spotted him flying overhead, too, so he counted the day as another success. 

But then came the third day, and his naive optimism came crashing to the ground. 

It was late in the afternoon and he was flying home after working a half day at the dojo, squinting against the bright sunlight as it beat down on the city. It was a hot day but he didn’t mind it, though he did look forward to cracking open a cold beer once he got back to his apartment. 

As he approached Capsule Corp for his second flyby of the day, he noted Bulla’s even, relaxed ki, and surmised that she was likely napping or meditating. He flew over the building and was absently wondering what to cook himself for dinner when a bright flash of blue from below caught his eye, and that was when he came screeching to a halt and turned as red as a strawberry. 

Just as he’d suspected, she was napping. The problem was, she was napping outside next to the pool on a chaise lounge, topless and wearing nothing but a tiny red bikini bottom. Goten could hardly believe what he was seeing, his mouth open and eyes drinking her in shamelessly until he realized what he was doing and looked up into the sun. 

Looking at her, he realized, burned more than the sunlight ever could. He didn’t have the strength nor the self control to do anything but look back down and keep staring at her, admiring her petite, toned, beautiful body and wishing he could fly right down to her and put his mouth on those flawless breasts. 

She’d love it, he knew. Her nipples were wonderfully sensitive and suckling on them brought the prettiest little sounds from her throat, made her so wet, and he couldn’t help but wonder - would she let him push those breasts together, play with them, slide his cock between them, fuck them until he painted her chest and face with his come? 

The sudden pulsing, insistent throb of his cock in his pants jolted him back to reality. He shook his head as if to physically shake the fantasy from his mind and then felt the familiar claws of self-hatred begin to sink into his heart. One more glance down at the princess and then he was flying away as fast as he could, a war raging inside him as he tried to convince himself that he didn’t really want her and that he could resist the delicious desire still coursing through his veins and demanding release. 

He lost that battle as soon as he got through his front door. He slammed it shut and leaned back against the door, yanking his pants down and jerking off right there. He came blindingly fast, too fast, and afterwards he slid down to the floor and stared at his messy hand with deep shame and disappointment in himself. 

He had slept with so many women, so many men, more than a few non-binary folks, and yet none of them had ever made him feel anything like this desperate, horrible hunger that he felt for Bulla Briefs. He felt like he was coming apart at the seams, unable to understand why a 19 year old girl he’d never looked at twice before was suddenly all he could think about. 

_Maybe I’m sick_ , he thought with a cold rush of horror. _Maybe I’ve always been sick and I just didn’t know it. Maybe I’m a monster._

But was he, really? 

Until happening across Bulla at that bar, he’d never felt an ounce of attraction to her. He’d never thought of her as anything but Trunks’ little sister. He’d certainly never harbored any secret attractions to her or any other teenagers before, usually staying within five years or so of his own age when dating or hooking up. 

She _was_ an adult now, after all. She wasn’t a child, as she liked to point out whenever he started wallowing in guilt in her presence. But he’d known her since was a baby and had been a constant fixture in her life, so wasn’t she supposed to always be a child to _him_? 

He tried to imagine what his own reaction would be if, for the sake of comparison, Trunks and Pan began some kind of romantic relationship. Their age difference was the same, though albeit the dynamic would be different since they were much closer than Goten and Bulla had ever been, but still. 

To Goten’s surprise, he didn’t really feel any revulsion at the idea. Sure it would be weird and he didn’t _want_ to think about it, but if they _did_ feel drawn to each other… he didn’t think he’d want to kill Trunks or throw a fit over him being interested in his niece. Actually, it would sure beat being worried about Pan getting her heart broken by some idiot who didn’t deserve to even stand in her presence. 

…. But none of that mattered, he realized. Whatever his feelings would be on hypothetical relationships that would never happen in real life, he knew exactly how Trunks and Vegeta would feel about him sniffing around their beloved princess. Bulma, _maybe_ , could be persuaded, but it hardly mattered when he’d be dead before he could even try to get her on his side. 

Then again, what was he even _thinking_ ? Bulla didn’t want a _relationship_ with him, and he certainly didn’t want one with her. Whatever was happening between them was strictly sexual, and he needed to be focused on how to end it for good and leave it in the past where it belonged. Not being able to look his best friend in the eye was pure hell, and he’d be fucked if they ever needed to fuse again - Trunks would know the very instant they joined together and shared a mind. 

_No_ , he decided as he stood up and dragged himself to the shower, this was officially over. He’d never fall into Bulla’s clutches ever again. He _couldn’t_. 

He wouldn’t. 

But then day four of Bulla patrol duty came, and as per usual, his plans went to hell in a handbasket. 

—

Bulla stepped out of the gravity room, feeling refreshed and pleasantly tired after two hours spent at 200 times Earth’s normal gravity. Downing her preferred sports drink and wiping the sweat off her brow with the towel draped over her neck, she headed towards her room and checked her phone for the time. Nearly 9 o’clock - time for Goten’s last flyby of the day, she thought with an amused grin. 

If he thought he was being subtle, he definitely wasn’t. It was strange, though - she was almost positive that he was suppressing his ki when he flew by, but she could still sense him anyway. She wasn’t really sure how or why that was, but she certainly couldn’t ask anyone for any ideas. Downside of a secret affair with a lifelong family friend, she supposed. 

Oh well. She just couldn’t believe that the poor guy had been assigned babysitting duty in her family’s absence - she could only imagine how he’d been freaking out inside when Trunks had asked him to do it. 

She stepped into her room, suppressing a giggle. She felt bad for him, she really did, but it was also kind of hilarious, in a terrible sort of way.

Deciding to cool off outside on her balcony in the night time breeze, she strolled outside through the glass doors and sighed as she leaned against the railing. She could sense him coming, and while she hadn’t been planning on it, she decided to end the ruse tonight. Goten was clearly too chicken to have any fun while her family was away, and even if he wouldn’t go to bed with her again, riling him up would at least be fun. 

Draining the drink and then tossing the bottle aside for a cleaning bot to grab later, she brushed her bangs out of her eyes and wondered if she was being mean or cruel, playing with him the way that she was. She’d never been interested in being a saint or a “good girl”, whatever that even was, but she didn’t _actually_ want to hurt Goten. 

Then again, she wasn’t quite sure what she _did_ want from him. Sex, obviously, because he was fucking amazing at it and hot as hell and strong enough that she didn’t need to hold herself back, but beyond that, she didn’t know. It was strange - she’d never known a life without Goten, but she didn’t really know him. He didn’t know her, either. He’d had the audacity to be surprised when she powered up to just the first level of Super Saiyan - she could only imagine how he’d keel over in shock if he saw what she was _really_ capable of. 

She smirked at the thought. She’d have to have a proper sparring match with him one of these days, somewhere they could both let loose and not worry about flattening any buildings. 

Then her head snapped up, her smirk falling from her face. He was here. 

He circled the building before approaching the wing that her bedroom was in, and once he came into view, she smiled brightly and waved at him. She then giggled as he nearly fell out of the sky in shock, recovering quickly and waving back as he came to a halt just above her balcony. 

“Uh… hi,” he said awkwardly, rubbing at the back of his head. She smiled - he was cute when he got all flustered and did that. 

“Hi,” she replied casually. “Enjoying keeping tabs on me 24/7?”

His eyes widened in genuine surprise. “I -“

She waved him off with a roll of her eyes. “I knew they’d make someone babysit me, but I figured it would be Piccolo or Gohan. Guess they were busy.”

“It’s not - I’ve just been flying by,” he stammered, clearly embarrassed. He looked good tonight, she thought as she eyed his gray sweatpants and tight black tank. He made the basics look damn good. “Just checking your ki. I’m not spying on you or… watching you, or anything like that.”

She grinned, leaning her head on her hand. “Bummer. That might have been kinda hot.” When Goten nearly blew a gasket in response, she quickly added, “Relax, I’m joking. So, what are you up to tonight?”

He shrugged. “Not much. Just on my way home from work.”

His eyes drifted down from her face, and it was then that she remembered how little she was wearing - just a blue sports bra and small black spandex shorts. She watched his gaze trip over her chest before darting back up, and she offered him a warm smile as she asked, “Wanna come in for awhile and hang out?”

“.... I think we both know why that’s not a good idea,” he replied flatly. 

She blinked up at him innocently. “Why not? We could watch a movie, eat some popcorn… what did you _think_ I meant by hang out?”

He stared at her incredulously, clearly trying to figure out whether she was fucking with him or not. She stared back until she couldn’t keep a straight face anymore, bursting out laughing. “Oh my God, you should see your face right now!”

Goten clenched his jaw and crossed his arms. “Real funny, Bulla.”

“I thought so too,” she replied, still snickering. “Seriously, though - it’s so boring here. You can’t hang out for a _little_ bit? I mean, I _guess_ I could go out and hit some bars and try to have some fun, but…”

“... Are you really telling me that if I don’t _hang out_ with you, you’ll go looking for trouble again?”

“First of all, me going out isn’t looking for trouble, and second… like I said, I’m bored,” she pouted. “Pan’s busy, my other friends flaked out on me… and my guardian angel doesn’t seem to wanna keep me company. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. Or I could just call this guy who works in accounting, he’s a little older than me but he’s always checking me out and he gave me his number last w-“

“Fine!” Goten relented, exasperated. “But it’s _just_ hanging out, got it? No funny business.”

“Funny business?” she repeated with a snort. “Wow, you _are_ old.” When he simply stayed hovering in midair, staring at her like she was the single biggest source of stress in his life, she gestured to the doors and said, “Well, come on in, then, unless you wanna hover out there all night like a weirdo.”

He huffed but touched down on the balcony a few seconds later, and she gave him an appreciative once-over. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”

His eyes narrowed. “ _Bulla…_ ”

She rolled her eyes and turned to stroll back into her bedroom, making sure to put a little extra sway into her hips as she did. “Take the stick outta your ass, Goten. You’re more fun when you act more like yourself and less like a grandpa.”

He sighed as he followed her inside. “Give me a break, all right? I’m in a very awkward position here and it’s not easy for me.”

“Well, I can’t argue with you there,” she agreed, taking her hair down from the messy bun it’d spent the last few hours tucked into. She turned and watched as Goten stood uneasily in her bedroom and glanced around it, and she caught a glimmer of surprise in his eyes. “What, were you expecting tons of pink and dolls and teddy bears?”

His eyes flew to hers, watching as her hair came tumbling down her shoulders. “No.”

She redecorated her bedroom pretty frequently, but right now everything was awash in deep burgundies and creams. Her bed was a queen sized one - naturally - and the room was spacious enough to house a large desk, dresser, and a well-stocked vanity. There was also a large tv mounted on the wall and an artificial fireplace beneath it, and while the room was technically quite clean, it was cluttered as all hell. She didn’t care - she was as disorganized as her mother and every bit as unconcerned about it. 

“Well,” she said, turning her back to Goten and reaching down to the hem of her sports bra, “feel free to make yourself at home while I take a quick shower.”

She pulled the sports bra over her head and heard him choke behind her. “Wh-“

The bra hit the floor, and as she pulled down her shorts and bent over to take them off, she could have sworn she heard Goten honest to god whimper. She grinned and, now fully naked, glanced over her shoulder and told the red-faced object of her interest, “You can join me if you wanna. Door’s open.”

She then sashayed to her bathroom, putting on a show the whole way there, projecting nothing but confidence even though her heart was fluttering and her lower lip was caught between nervous teeth. She _was_ a confident woman, no doubt about it, but the risk of rejection this time around was high. Goten was clearly scared half to death of his own attraction to her, and she _was_ being rather brazen in her actions. But, she reminded herself as she stepped into her bathroom and turned on the shower to let the water heat up, she was done being the sole aggressor in this affair. The ball was in his court now, and if he stayed in that bedroom it would sting her pride but she’d live. 

She’d meant it before, during their last _encounter_ , when she’d told him that the next time it would be _him_ coming to _her_. She refused to follow him around like some lovesick little girl, always the first to initiate contact. No, he would have to do the work sometimes too, because she deserved that much. She deserved to feel wanted, craved, and she’d settle for nothing less. 

She sighed happily once she was under the shower’s hot spray, her muscles relaxing and the leftover tension from her training session melting away beneath the water. She closed her eyes and savored the simple luxury, purposefully not listening for the sounds of Goten’s footsteps or searching for his approaching energy. If he came, he came, and she’d make sure she made it worth his while. 

If he didn’t… well, she didn’t think she’d have to find out. 

—

Goten’s heart pounded in his chest. 

This was bad. This was very, _very_ bad. He never should have come into Bulla’s room in the first place, and he’d realized his mistake the minute he’d walked in and was enveloped wholly in Bulla’s alluring scent. By then it was too late, and before he knew it she was stripping in front of him and inviting him into her shower, and he just didn’t understand - why did every single encounter with her have to be like this? Why did it have to be so _hard_? 

As he listened to her shower turn on and the water begin to run, he looked down at the sports bra that laid just before his feet and felt his already shaky resolve start to crumble. He had the urge to reach down and pick up the garment and bury his face in it to drown himself in the scent of her sweat and _her_ , and considering he’d never had the faintest desire to do that to anyone else’s sweat-drenched workout clothes before, he realized just how far gone he already was. 

Then, as the sweet scent of strawberry shampoo wafted out from the open bathroom door and tickled under Goten’s nose, he looked towards the balcony door and told himself to go and not look back. 

_Come on, Goten. You know better. You’ve been over this a thousand times already. This_ has _to stop, for both of your sakes._

He squeezed his eyes shut, mentally all but _screaming_ at himself, but his feet wouldn’t budge. At least not in _that_ direction. 

_Just one more time,_ the proverbial devil on his shoulder whispered in his ear. _You’ve already fucked her twice - what’s a third time? And you’ll never know what she looks like dripping wet in the shower unless you get in there…_

He opened his eyes, setting his sights on that open bathroom door and clenching his jaw. 

_Just one more time, then it’s over_. 

His heart leapt in his chest as his feet finally began to move, and _not_ towards the exit. 

_Just one more time._ Then he was done.

—

Just finishing rinsing the conditioner from her silky strands, Bulla froze and grinned to herself as she listened to the shower door push open. Growing disappointment turned into rapidly blooming excitement as she reached for her beachy-scented body wash, squeezing a generous amount into her hand as she feigned nonchalance and pretended to pay no mind to the man slowly approaching her from behind. 

She spread the soap all over her body, humming contentedly and tensing in anticipation as she felt the heat of Goten’s body growing closer. Then large, warm hands landed on her hips and that hard body pressed itself to her back, Goten leaning in close and murmuring in her ear, “This is the last time, Bulla.”

She grinned. _Sure, pal._ “Guess we’d better make it worth our while then, huh?”

He groaned quietly, pressing his nose to her neck and inhaling before laying a hungry kiss upon the sensitive flesh. His hands rose up and trailed over her belly, rising until they cupped her soapy breasts and squeezed them possessively. She closed her eyes and sighed as she enjoyed the sensations, feeling rather pleased with herself when she felt the telltale hardness pressed to her backside. He tried so hard to pretend like he wasn’t attracted to her, but his body betrayed him at every turn. 

“Why do you do this to me?” he asked lowly, his tone one of torment even as he pressed sweet kisses under her jaw. 

She bit her lip, reaching back and sliding her hand into his hair and replying, “Because it’s fun.”

He growled low in his throat and placed a hand on her cheek, turning her head his way to lay a furious kiss on her lips. She wasn’t lying, exactly - this _was_ fun, no doubt about it, but she doubted he _really_ wanted to know the full truth. Hell, _she_ didn’t even want to deal with it, so it was just easier this way. 

Let him think that she only wanted him for his body and his skills and nothing else. It would be far easier for both of them.

As the kiss grew deeper and longer, Bulla turned in his arms and wrapped hers around his neck, pressing her breasts to his chest and kissing him hungrily. Sometimes it was still surreal, feeling his naked body against hers and kissing him like this, knowing that it was real and not a dream and that he had, in fact, been the first man to ever take her to bed. He’d been the subject of her fantasies for so long and she’d never been silly enough to let herself believe that they might ever come true, and now that they were… it was the best and most intoxicating kind of strangeness that she’d ever experienced. 

His hands ran all over her body, down to her ass and thighs and back up again, all while his tongue moved sinfully in her mouth and rendered her breathless. He was just so damn _good_ at this, so much better than the boys she’d tried to fool around with before only to be left annoyed and unsatisfied in the end. But _Goten…_ he was even better than she’d imagined he’d be, and learning the kinds of pleasure that her body was capable of at his hands was nothing short of a dream come true. 

It made her feel grateful. So much so that she decided to express it through her actions, breaking their kiss with a small grin and slowly sinking to her knees, kissing along his chiseled body the whole way down. Once she’d settled herself as comfortably as she could on the tile floor, she looked up at him in what she hoped was an alluring and decidedly false innocence as she wrapped her hand around his cock. She watched his jaw clench and cheeks flush, his hand reaching out to steady himself against the wall to his left, and Bulla licked her lips as she reveled in having such an effect on him. She maintained eye contact as she leaned in and, her hand slowly stroking him, placed a gentle wet kiss to his tip. He started breathing through his mouth, and she swirled her tongue around and sucked just at the tip, closing her eyes and humming as if it were something sweet as ice cream that she was enjoying. 

“Bulla,” he groaned, his voice wrecked already as he watched her and slipped his free hand into her hair. He pushed back a few damp strands from her face as she began a careful rhythm, taking more of him in while her hand worked what she couldn’t fit, and judging by the sounds he began to make, she knew she was doing something right. Something Goten didn’t know was that he was the first she’d ever done this to, since thus far he was the only man she’d felt was worthy of such an honor. Certainly none of the fools she’d entertained before had been worth knowing what her mouth felt like and what it was capable of. 

She found that she rather enjoyed this, liking how he tasted on her tongue and the way that he trembled and groaned for her, and the way that his fingers gently gripped her hair without pushing or controlling her movements. She was in charge, controlling his pleasure and gradually building orgasm, and _that_ was a type of power she could see herself getting drunk on. 

“Bulla,” he hissed through gritted teeth, and Bulla glanced up to find him breathing harder and blushing deeper. “You gotta stop before I -“

_Ooh_ . Rather than pull off, Bulla redoubled her efforts and began to take him even deeper and suck him harder, faster, and to her surprise he _shouted_ out of both surprise and immense pleasure. She didn’t stop until he gasped and tensed and finally spilled on her tongue, and there was so much that she pulled her mouth away out of instinct but continued to stroke him through it. As a result, she wore more of his orgasm on her face and neck than she managed to swallow, and to her own surprise, she didn’t mind it at all. It was kinda hot. 

Then, after he recovered enough to open his eyes and look down at her, _kinda hot_ became _really fucking hot_ because his dazed, dilated dark eyes suddenly became nothing short of feral as he stared at her on his knees at his feet, his come streaked over her face and her lips cherry-red and swollen from his cock. 

He quickly reached down and pulled her up to her feet, cradling her messy face in his hands as he stared at her with that wild look in his eye and murmured roughly, “You are the most perfect fuckin’ thing I’ve ever seen.” Then he leaned in and licked the come off of her cheek, making her gasp and stare at him in deep surprise when he pulled away. He merely groaned lightly and then kissed her deeply, though he did move them further under the spray of the shower head so that the rest of the mess could be rinsed away. 

It was somewhere in those moments, then, when Bulla knew deep down that no other man would ever live up to Goten. She had truly screwed herself over by making him her first, knowing damn well that no man could ever top him or ever even come close to him. But still, she just couldn’t bring herself to regret it and she certainly wasn’t about to put a stop to it. 

Better to continue to taste perfection while she still could, she reasoned - consequences be damned. 

—

Goten was on fire, inside and out, and a certain princess was entirely to blame. 

He kissed her like he was a man dying of thirst and she was a desert oasis, unable to get enough of her and wanting _more, more, more_. It wasn’t long before he reached behind her and turned off the water, scooping her up into his arms and walking them out of shower, flaring his ki and wrapping it around them both to instantly dry them. She smiled at him when he did it, and he allowed himself to smile back just a little bit before kissing her again and walking them the rest of the way to her bed. 

He tossed her down on the mattress and she caught herself on her palms, trying to sit up but he pushed her down to her back with a gentle but firm hand to her chest. Then he hooked his hands under her knees and yanked her down to the edge of the bed, enjoying her little yelp of surprise as she went, and he brought an ankle to his lips and kissed it tenderly before starting a slow trail downwards. Her skin was so smooth and soft, flawless like the rest of her, and as he pressed his lips to the back of her knee he glanced at her and found her watching him intently, her hands on her own breasts and lower lip caught between her teeth. 

He’d never seen anyone be such an exquisite picture of both innocence and wickedness, and nobody had ever driven him so thoroughly out of his mind before. He sunk down to his knees before her as he mouthed along her inner thighs, feeling strangely like it was his natural place in life and where he belonged - knelt before his princess, serving her as she deserved, lowering his face to her core and licking up her wetness with a deliriously pleased groan. 

She gasped, and he pulled her thighs closer and closed his eyes as he began to truly devour her. As much as her scent captivated him, the taste of her was even more bewitching and he found it even better than he remembered. He couldn’t fathom how this girl could be so seemingly tailor-made to turn him on, so effortlessly able to make him _roar_ inside with undeniable need, and it wasn’t fucking _fair_. 

But he could hardly care about that now, with the young woman in question moaning and grasping his hair in her tight, small fingers, rolling her hips towards his face as he licked and suckled her to ecstasy. Her wetness was dripping down his chin and he could feel it when her first orgasm grew near, by now knowing her tells - her moans rising in pitch and her hips falling almost completely still until it hit her, at which point pleasure exploded through her body and left her shaking uncontrollably against him. 

He held her thighs in a bruising grip, keeping her as still as he could as he helped her ride out her release. He then pulled away panting, resting his cheek on her inner thigh and watching her as she laid sated and dazed on the bed, breathing hard and smiling softly under her closed eyes. She was so incredibly beautiful, he thought as he pressed a soft kiss to her skin. Truly, she was something special and rare. Something to be treasured and cherished. 

_Mine_ , the beast inside of him whispered, and he didn’t have the strength to silence it. 

Releasing her legs and rising back to his feet, Goten wrapped an arm under her waist and lifted her up the bed as he knelt upon it himself. He laid her head on her pillow and settled himself above her, brushing her hair from her eyes as she looked up at him and smiled sweetly. She’d never smiled so much during their previous encounters, he realized, and something about it made his heart clench. 

He leaned down and kissed her, his hand sliding up her belly and then gently cupping a breast. His tongue slid with hers as he squeezed and played, making her whimper into his mouth every time his fingers pinched or flicked at her nipple. He loved how responsive and vocal she was, and when she broke their kiss to catch her breath, he moved down and brought his mouth to her other breast to pull more delicious sounds from her lips. 

She squirmed and gasped beneath him, moaning his name and making a shudder of pure need wrack through his body. He’d never really softened after his orgasm in the shower, still hard and aching all this time, but his own pleasure was the last thing on his mind. He could stay like this forever, he thought, content to serve at the pleasure of his Bulla and make her feel good, give her whatever she needed and anything she wanted. 

“Goten,” she whimpered as he sucked one nipple and tugged gently on the other, “more, I need - touch me, please…”

He groaned and let go of her breast, moving his hand between her legs instead and gently slipping two fingers deep inside of her. Her breath hitched and she grasped at him with restless hands, closing her eyes and moaning gratefully as he expertly worked her. Each curl of his fingers had her writhing and rocking to meet each new thrust of his hand, and after awhile he lifted his head to watch her. 

She was so _free_ and perfect like this, flushed down to her belly and lost in the pleasure that she was trusting him to give her, and he couldn’t hold back anymore - he leaned down and pressed his lips to her ear, knowing how much she liked it when he talked dirty and unable to stay quiet anymore anyway. 

“You’re so tight, Princess,” he murmured, and he _felt_ her flutter around him in response. “So wet, so hot… grip my fingers so hard, fuck…”

Bulla keened in response, demanding breathlessly, “Faster, harder.”

He gave her exactly what she wanted, not needing to transform to move his hand at an inhuman speed, and between the way that she cried out in delight and the wet, obscene sounds of her flesh as it slapped against his palm, Goten couldn’t imagine anything better than this. 

“You’re so close, Princess, I can feel it,” he groaned. “God, you’re perfect. So beautiful, so fuckin’ sexy… do you know what you do to me?”

Her eyes opened and met his, and as she teetered on the brink of another orgasm, she whimpered, “S-say… say I’m yours.”

The beast inside roared to life, freed from its chains by the request of its princess. 

“You’re mine,” he growled, barely sounding like himself, his lips a breath away from hers. “My Princess. _My Bulla_.”

She gasped and cried his name, arching and coming hard on his fingers, and he watched her like a predator stalking his prey from the skies. The only thing that shook him from his dark revelry was the realization that his entire forearm was soaked in her essence. 

He looked down as he gently eased his fingers out of her, eyes widening in amazement as he touched the sheets beneath them and confirmed his suspicions. He couldn’t help but grin like an idiot, a small laugh bubbling out of his chest. 

He nuzzled Bulla’s cheek as she panted with her eyes closed, kissing her gently and musing, “You really are the perfect woman, Bulla.”

She opened dazed eyes and blinked at him. “Huh?”

“Did you know you could do that?”

She furrowed her brows. “... Do what?”

He lifted his arm and showed her the evidence. “I made you squirt, Princess.”

Her eyes bulged and her cheeks grew bright pink. “You - I did… all that?”

“You sure fuckin’ did,” he groaned as he leaned down and kissed her gently. “I love it when that happens. It’s so damn hot.”

She frowned and pushed him away a few inches, narrowing her eyes at him. “I don’t wanna hear about the other girls you’ve fucked.”

He blinked in surprise, and his initial gut reaction to apologize was overshadowed by a baser urge. He grinned and asked, “Jealous, Princess?”

Her blush deepened, but she shook her head. “I’m not jealous of anyone. Besides,” she grinned back at him deviously, “why should I be? I bet none of those girls ever got under your skin the way I have.”

His grin slowly faded. Silly him for thinking he could challenge Bulla when it came to _that_. She had the upper hand on him in every category, in every way possible. 

She smiled with victory. “See? Try and deny it all you want, Goten,” she began to sit up and he moved back, “but you want me just as much as I want you. And we both know this isn’t gonna be the last time we do this.”

He sat back on her bed with a growing expression of defeat, but Bulla looked pleased as punch as she moved closer to him. She climbed on to his lap and ran her hands up and down his chest, tilting her head and smirking, “Just say it, Goten.”

She gripped his cock in her hand and began to ease herself down over it slowly, _too_ slowly, as he met her gaze and asked weakly, “Say what?”

“Say that you want me,” she replied, teasingly taking the tip of his cock within her and then easing off, repeating it a few times until his jaw clenched with frustration. “Say that you like fucking me. That I drive you crazy.” She sank a little deeper, taking about half of him in and moaning softly, her eyes still locked on to his. “That you can't stop thinking about me.”

Another deep, throaty growl tumbled out of his chest, and Goten’s hands seized her hips and slammed her all the way down on his cock. She yelped in surprise but quickly fell silent as he leaned in and closed his eyes, touching his forehead to hers. “Yes, Bulla, _I want you_. I want you so bad it fucking terrifies me.”

She shivered in his arms and held him close, kissing him as she began to slowly rock up and down. “Then _have_ me, Goten.”

He knew what she meant, but it wasn’t possible and they both knew it. He gripped her ass gently in his hands and started guiding her rhythm, drawing her into a deep kiss that shut her up as he fucked up into her. It was, after all, so much easier to lose himself within her than it was to actually face the truth of what they were doing. 

Eventually their somewhat lazy pace picked up, and Goten watched raptly as Bulla rocked up and down in his lap, her hair flying all about and breasts bouncing right in his face, and he couldn’t help but to bury his face within them. He licked at one nipple and then the other, encouraged by her hand on the back of his head holding him to her, and he only stopped when it just wasn’t enough for him anymore. With a gravelly moan he seized her by the hips and in less than a blink of an eye, she was down on her back and he was on top of her, fucking her hard enough to make her nearly scream. 

He knew neither of them were gonna last much longer, so he decided to make it count. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them down by her head, his hips snapping into hers punishingly, and he kissed her hard and sloppy before whispering against her lips, “ _Mine_.”

She shuddered and moaned, and he could feel it - just a little more and she would fall apart. 

He dropped his face down lower, mouthing at the curve of her neck and shoulder. “ _My Bulla._ ” Then he sank his teeth into her flesh and with a choked-off cry of his name, Bulla was coming and _coming_ and taking him over the edge with her. He filled her up and she milked him for all he was worth, and by the time it was over, they were both at last well and truly spent. 

Breathing hard and feeling suddenly like he could sleep for an entire week, Goten collapsed next to Bulla and threw an arm over his eyes as he slowly caught his breath. Bulla was much the same, running a tired hand through her hair as she recovered, and as the reality of what they’d done began to sink in, Goten realized he had absolutely no idea what to say or do after all of _that_. 

_Dammit_. She really did have him wrapped around her finger. 

Before he could panic and flee, however, Bulla cuddled up to him and threw an arm around his middle, pillowing her head on his chest and tangling one of her legs between both of his. Sighing and figuring he was already going to hell anyway, Goten wrapped an arm around her and allowed himself to cuddle her back. 

She really did fit nicely against him. Almost perfectly, in fact. 

Yawning quietly against his chest, Bulla shifted against him and sighed, “You should stay the night.”

“I can’t.”

She looked up and raised a brow at him. “What, you got a cat to feed?”

“No, just… the less time I spend here, the better,” he muttered, trying to stare at the ceiling rather than into her incredibly persuasive blue eyes. 

She scoffed lightly. “Oh, come on. Everyone’s gone, nobody’s gonna know. And I _know_ you’re tired after all of that.”

He sighed and closed his eyes. “ _Bulla…_ ”

She shifted and propped herself up on his chest, kissing him briefly and then pleading sweetly, “Please, Goten? For me?”

He rolled his eyes but cracked a smile anyway, shaking his head as he groaned, “You play dirty, Princess.”

She shrugged, shooting him a cheeky wink. “I’ll give you morning sex, too.”

He lifted his hand to her cheek, brushing her hair behind her ear and then trailing his thumb along her cheekbone. “Bulla. You know this is… what we’re doing… it can’t go anywhere. We can’t keep doing this.”

“You keep saying that, and yet…”

“I’m being serious,” he sighed. “If someone found out - if Trunks knew -“

She rolled her eyes, annoyed. “Can’t you ever think about anything else?”

“How can you _not_ think about that?”

“Because, he’s just my brother and he doesn’t run my life. I’m an adult, I can make my own choices.”

“Yeah, but part of being an adult is dealing with the consequences of those choices and I promise you, eventually they’re gonna catch up with us.”

She pushed off of him and retreated back into her own space. “Yeah, I’m not gonna sit here and listen to you lecture me about being an adult. You can leave if that’s how you’re gonna be.”

He sat up, his expression earnest but hers stony as she yanked the (destroyed) sheet over herself and crossed her arms. “I’m not trying to lecture you, Bulla, but I _am_ older than you and -“

She jabbed a finger towards her balcony. “Door’s that way.”

“Seriously? I try to have one serious conversation with you and this is how you act?”

“Yes,” she snapped, “because I don’t need to hear how horrible it is for you to like me and how bad it makes you feel, especially when it’s all because of shit I can’t change. I can’t change how old I am, I can’t change who my family is, and I wouldn’t if I could anyway. I’m real sorry that everything about who I am disgusts you, but -“

“For fuck’s sake, Bulla, it’s not like that,” Goten replied in sheer exasperation. “Nothing about you disgusts me. You’re - God, it’s hard for me to think of anything I _don’t_ like about you. But no matter how much I like you, it doesn’t change the fact that if Trunks or your dad knew -“

“I _know_ , I get it,” she scowled. “You’re a broken record.”

“I don’t think you get it at all,” Goten retorted. “Or you’re just too self centered to care. Is this just all a game to you? Do you get off on the whole secret affair thing? Have you ever once thought what all of this might cost me? Do you even _care_ about me at all?”

Then, to Goten’s astonishment, Bulla looked up at him with undeniable tears in her eyes. Real tears, not the ones that she forced down her cheeks when she just wanted to get her way. 

He hadn’t expected this, and now he felt a distinct thrill of panic setting in. 

“Just go,” she muttered, the fight leaving her voice. She turned away from Goten pointedly and stared off, and Goten had no idea what to do.

Now feeling guilty as hell, he reached towards her and softly murmured her name, planning on apologizing, but she unexpectedly seized him by his wrist, and then several things happened very quickly. 

He saw her hair flash golden for a fraction of a second, and then he was flying out of her balcony doors and hurtling through the air, still fully naked. He screeched as he crashed into a thicket of trees beyond the CC grounds, and when he managed to drag himself up to a sitting position, his clothes suddenly smacked into his face and knocked him backwards again. 

She had impeccable aim, he marveled. And he, by contrast, seemed to sure have a way of fucking everything up and making already-messy situations even worse. 

_Fucking great._


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goten makes amends, and rather than end things like they both know they should, he and Bulla dive deeper into the growing connection between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skksksksks your guys’ feedback gives me life, thank you all so so much 😭😭 I’m having so much fun writing this and your guys’ comments make it so much better! Hope you all like this chapter, and as a side note I originally wasn’t gonna do the whole mating bite thing but... well, here we are 😂 gonna do my best to put my own spin on it though, so fingers crossed lol. See you guys soon! 💙

“I swear, Bulla,” Pan sighed as she followed her best friend down the halls of Capsule Corp, “I don’t understand how you even have room for this many new clothes.”

“Dude,” Bulla snorted, “ _capsules_.”

“Oh, right,” Pan muttered, carrying about 12 bags to Bulla’s 14. “Well, remember, next time I get to pick what we do, and it’s definitely _not_ gonna be shopping.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Bulla shrugged, kicking open the door to her bedroom. Pan had never outgrown her tomboy nature and didn’t share Bulla’s passion for designer clothes and makeup, but the two girls were kindred spirits on levels far more significant than materialistic ones. 

“Maybe you could finally take me to Beerus’ world and let me spar with W- holy crap, Bulla!” Pan suddenly exclaimed once they were inside the bedroom. She dropped the bags in her arms and pointed towards Bulla’s dresser. “That is the biggest bouquet of roses I’ve ever seen.”

“Bouquet of - _oh_.” Bulla’s eyes widened and she dropped her bags next, her heart flip flopping in her chest at the unexpected sight. It was indeed a massive bouquet of roses, as blue as the hair on her head, and it definitely hadn’t been there when she’d left earlier that day. 

Pan zipped past her and squealed, “Ooh, a card!” She plucked it from within the mass of blue and green and grinned as she began reading, “ _Princess, I know flowers can only go so far but I wanted to give you something real and not just words to express how sorry I am for_ -“

“Give me that!” Bulla shrieked, throwing herself at her best friend and tackling her to the ground in a sudden fit of panic. _If she saw the signature on that card_ \- 

Pan laughed and tried to wrestle Bulla off, waving the card around and keeping it just out of Bulla’s reach. “Ooh, someone’s trying to keep secrets from her best friend!”

_Shit shit shit_. “Pan, I’m serious, give it to me now - I’m not joking!”

Pan stuck out her tongue. “Is it from that loser that you met at the beach because -“

Officially losing her patience, Bulla narrowed her eyes and let out a growl of sheer frustration. Her eyes and hair flashed red as fire and Pan froze in shock, and Bulla snatched the card out of her hand and quickly jumped to her feet and dashed away to read the card in peace as her aura and hair color returned to normal. 

Pan pushed herself up from the floor, utterly bewildered. “Did you really just go _Super Saiyan God_ on me over _that_?”

“You weren’t listening,” Bulla snapped, cheeks flushing in embarrassment. She wasn’t one to lose her cool so easily, but she hadn’t been able to help it. 

“I was just playing around!”

Bulla ignored her and quickly read the card in its entirety. 

_Princess,_

_I know flowers can only go so far but I wanted to give you something real and not just words to express how sorry I am for how things ended the other night. I never meant to upset you like that but I see now that I acted like a jackass. Please forgive me, Princess._

_-G_

Well, at least the fool hadn’t been stupid enough to sign his full name. 

Behind her, Pan slowly raised her head over Bulla’s shoulder to peek down at the card, prompting the younger girl to snatch it out of her sight and shoot her a very Vegeta-like scowl over her shoulder. 

“ _Pan_.”

Pan narrowed her eyes right back. “Oh, like you wouldn’t do the same thing.”

Bulla incinerated the card with a brief spark of ki, smirking and shrugging, “Guess it doesn’t matter anymore.”

Pan’s eyes widened. “Dude, what the hell? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you act this weird and secretive about anything. Not even that crush you used to have on my uncle.”

_Oh fucking hell, seriously?_

Bulla took a deep breath, poker face on and bulletproof. “Listen, you know that I like to keep certain things to myself. I’ll tell you about it eventually, but not yet, okay? Also, if you don’t go around bringing up my old embarrassing crushes I won’t bring up the fact that you’re _still_ in love with my brother, ‘kay?”

Pan’s cheeks turned bright pink, her fists balling up at her sides as she screeched, “I am _not_! I’ve been over that for - forever! I have a girlfriend! I -“

Bulla rolled her eyes, “Sure, sure. Pan, I saw you turn ten shades of red the other day when he complimented you on your hair. Your face is like Shakira’s hips - they don’t lie.”

Pan gave her a flat look over the admittedly terrible joke and then sputtered, “Okay, first of all -“

Having successfully distracted Pan, Bulla grinned and began to drift off in her own head, Pan’s raving becoming little more than background noise. Even though the card was now nothing but ash, every word of it was floating through her brain and reminding her of all the texts Goten had sent her over the last week that she’d stubbornly ignored. 

For a guy who claimed that they couldn’t keep sleeping together and that their affair needed to end, he was sure obsessed with getting back into her good graces. A part of her that she wasn’t proud of was kind of enjoying the idea of him squirming with anxiety over her, but the truth was that she just hadn’t really known what to do or say. If she was being honest, she was starting to think their relationship was already dead in the water. 

All Goten ever seemed to care about was the possibility of Trunks or Vegeta finding out about them, and it clouded and colored their every interaction. She was sick of it, sick of being seen as a mere extension of the men in her family, and as deeply into Goten as she was, she was quickly tiring of his constant inner turmoil. 

But guilt over that very thing was starting to creep in. After all, Trunks was like Goten’s brother, and Bulla’s parents had always been like surrogate ones to Goten since he’d been born, according to what she’d always heard. She could hardly fault him for being scared of their reaction to him secretly having sex with their much younger princess, could she? 

She didn’t like feeling guilty. It made her deeply uncomfortable, in fact, so she tried to ignore it. Problem was, Goten’s texts and now his flowers just wouldn’t let her. 

She inwardly sighed. Guess she was gonna have to break her silence and finally text him back. 

“... so see? I’m _way_ over Trunks, thank you very much,” Pan declared, crossing her arms and turning up her nose. Bulla smiled - she could play Pan like a fiddle, and the girl only realized it half the time. Bulla had that gift when it came to most people in her life, though she felt like she was losing her touch when it came to a certain other member of the Son family. 

“All right, if you say so,” Bulla shrugged. “You hungry? My grandma made her famous lasagna.”

Pan paused, instantly drooling every way but literally at the mere mention of the food. Then she narrowed her eyes. “Wait… you’re trying to distract me, aren’t you?”

“Me? Never,” Bulla scoffed, taking Pan’s hand and dragging her towards the bedroom door. “C’mon, I’m starving.”

“I’m not gonna forget about those flowers,” Pan warned even as she let Bulla steer her away. 

“And I’m not gonna forget about your crush on my brother.”

Pan’s jaw dropped in indignance. “Oh, that’s it!” She launched herself at Bulla just as they reached a staircase, and Bulla giggled as they tumbled down it together. They slapped and kicked at each other like squabbling children the whole way down, landing in an undignified heap at the bottom, at which point a business-suit clad Trunks walked by and, unfazed by the semi-regular scene, said, “Hey, Pan.”

Pan froze mid-punch and looked up. “... Hey Trunks.”

Bulla then kicked Pan into the nearest wall, cackling in victory and hoping _she_ wasn’t that obvious over Goten. 

—

Later that night, long after Pan had gone home and Bulla had showered the day off, she climbed into her bed and side-eyed the blue roses sitting unassumingly on her dresser. They served as a physical reminder of what she needed to do, but now that she was alone and her chance had come, her motivation for it had dropped dramatically. 

Damn her nerves. She was _not_ an anxious person, but when it came to Goten all bets were off. 

She sighed and reached for her phone. Best to just get it over with, she thought determinedly as she pulled up Goten’s text thread. 

Then she stared blankly at the screen for the next five minutes, having absolutely no idea what to text him back. _Thanks for the flowers, let’s fuck again sometime?_ Or, _I accept your apology, wanna get together and have hot sex followed by a night-long panic spiral like always?_

She groaned and switched to plan b. She pulled up his contact info and hit the call button, bringing the phone to her ear and kind of hoping he wouldn’t answer. 

But he did, and on the second ring, no less. 

“Hello?”

Bulla’s mouth opened but for a moment, nothing came out. “... Hi.”

In the background she heard what sounded like dishes clanking together. “Hey. I, uh… didn’t expect to hear from you.”

_Kami_ she loved his voice. It was deep and smooth and it sent shivers down her spine, no matter what he was saying. “Yeah, sorry. I haven’t been ignoring you on purpose.” She paused. “That’s a lie, I totally have been.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I figured. But I understand.” He paused. “Did you get the flowers?”

“I did,” she replied, glancing towards the vase in question. “Am I right to assume you snuck into my room and put them there?”

She could just imagine his hand rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “Yeah. Sorry, I couldn’t really figure out how else to get them to you without anyone noticing.”

“It’s okay. They’re beautiful.”

“I thought so too. Reminded me of you,” he said softly. “Listen, Bulla, I’m s-“

“Please don’t,” she interrupted. “Don’t apologize any more than you already have. It’s okay. Really. I didn’t call you to make you grovel at my feet.”

He was quiet for a moment. “Then what did you call me for, Bulla?”

She bit her lip, deciding to just be honest. “... I miss you.”

He said nothing for awhile, but eventually she heard him sigh and reply lowly, “I miss you too, Princess.”

It took so little on his part to make goosebumps erupt on her flesh, Bulla marveled. She closed her eyes and shuddered at the memory of the last time they’d slept together, and the way that he’d given into her and called her _my Bulla, my Princess_ as she came undone beneath him. She knew better than to think he meant it, but Kami how she wished he did. 

“I thought you’d be happy to not hear from me for a whole week,” she mused. 

“Honestly… so did I,” he admitted. “But I was wrong.”

She allowed herself to grin a little bit, letting his words stroke her ego. “Guess you like me a little bit after all.”

He scoffed lightly. “Of course I _like_ you, Bulla. Do you think I’d have dug myself into a hole this deep over someone I don’t even like?”

She twirled a lock of her long hair around her index finger, eyes unseeing on the ceiling as she shrugged, “Maybe. I mean, if the sex was good enough. Plus there’s that weird Saiyan scent thing that seems to make us both crazy, so…”

“ _Bulla_.” His voice was low and sent a dangerous thrill through her body. “Stop. Don’t act like you don’t know how tight you’ve got me wrapped around your finger.”

She grinned, not expecting to hear anything like _that_. “Oh, do I? I hadn’t noticed.”

“You’re infuriating, you know that?”

She giggled, stretching her limbs under the blanket she was snuggled under. “It’s part of my charm. So… what are you up to tonight?”

“Real exciting stuff. Just finished doing dishes and now heading to bed.”

“Boring old man,” she teased. 

“Oh, yeah? And what are _you_ up to, Miss Exciting?”

“Not much,” she smirked, feigning a sigh. “Just laying here all alone in my bed… kinda wishing I had someone here with me. Oh, and I just took a shower, so I’m not wearing anything.”

A beat passed, and then: “... Goddamn, you fucking tease.”

He sounded tortured, and she loved it. She slid her hand down her chest beneath the blanket, idly running her palm over her breasts as she asked, “Don't believe me? I can prove it.”

“Please don’t,” he groaned, and she heard a dull thud that sounded suspiciously like his head hitting a wall. “The picture in my head is vivid enough.”

_Kami_ , was she enjoying this. “I can make it even more vivid,” she offered, glancing down her body. “Right now I’m playing with my nipple, getting it all hard and tugging on it like you do. Doesn’t feel as good as your mouth does, but it’s still turning me on.”

“ _Bulla…_ ”

“ _Mmm_ ,” she hummed, squeezing her breast and then moving her hand to her other one to play. “Do you like my tits, Goten? I know they’re not the biggest in the world, but - _ah_ \- it feels so good when you play with them.”

“I love them, baby,” he replied lowly, and her heart skipped a beat - he’d never called her _that_ before. “They’re the perfect handful. I wanna do a _lot_ to them.”

She raised a curious eyebrow. What more was there to do to them that he hadn’t already done? “Like what?” When he only groaned lightly and didn’t answer, she added, “Tell me, Goten.”

“... I wanna fuck them,” he confessed, making her eyes widen and a shiver shoot down her spine. “Get them wet and push them together, slide my cock between them.”

… _Oh_ . That was something new that she’d never seen or thought of before. Once again she was reminded of the _years_ of experience he had on her, and she couldn’t pretend it wasn’t incredibly sexy. 

“I’d come so fast,” he sighed, sounding wrecked already. Bulla’s hand left her breasts and began to move lower, over her belly and towards a part of her body that was starting to demand attention. “You’d look so good like that, with your tits all covered in my come.”

She whimpered out loud - she couldn’t help it. She’d just been playing around at first but _fuck_ , he was good at this. “And what would I get out of it?” she asked, fingers sliding through her quickly growing wetness and bringing them up to rub at herself. 

“I’d lay down, pull you up on me, let you sit on my face,” he replied, starting to sound a little breathless. She wondered if he was already touching himself. “Eat you out, let you ride my face and come as many times as you want.”

She shuddered, pleasure exploding through her between his words and her own touches. This might not last long. “G-Goten…”

“You like the sound of that?”

She closed her eyes, fingers moving faster and body thrumming with excitement. “Please keep talking, don’t stop.”

“... You’re touching yourself, aren’t you, Princess?” She answered with a soft moan, and he chuckled darkly. “Good girl, keep going. I bet you look so gorgeous like that, all spread out in your bed, dripping wet, fingering yourself…”

“Wanna see?” she asked teasingly. “I’ll send you a picture if you send me one.”

“... Do it,” he replied after almost zero hesitation, and Bulla didn’t give herself a chance to have second thoughts of her own. 

She kept her face mostly out of the frame, throwing the blanket off of herself and capturing everything between her mouth and her upper thighs. She didn’t waste time agonizing over angles or multiple shots, sending the first and only picture that she took after triple checking that it was going to the right recipient. Then, just after she hit the send button, a new text arrived from Goten. She clicked it with a shaky thumb and gasped softly when it came into view. 

He was lying on his couch, shirtless and pants pushed down his thighs, short hair a mess and face flushed, eyes on the camera and full of the desire that was so evident in his voice, and his right hand was wrapped around a _very_ hard cock. He was so _fucking_ hot and Bulla suspected that he knew it, but she couldn’t complain. Entire body on fire, she brought the phone back to her ear and breathed, “You there?”

“Barely,” he replied, sounding like he was utterly _overcome_. “You’re fucking gorgeous, Bulla.”

“So are you,” she replied breathlessly, by now _gushing_ around her fingers. She picked up the pace, the look in Goten’s eyes in the picture haunting her in the best way. “ _God_ , I want you, Goten.”

“What do you want from me, Princess? Tell me.”

“Your cock,” she replied, a blush rising to her cheeks. She’d never spoken like this before to anyone but she was too caught up to care, and she wanted to make this as good for Goten as it was for her. Prove even further that she wasn’t a child and that she could give him anything an older woman could. “Want you to fuck me hard, make it hurt. Hold me down and just… do whatever you want to me.”

He let out a sound of pure pleasure and it went right to her core, and she had to slow down to keep from coming right then. “Oh, _baby_ … you’re so fuckin’ perfect. I’ll fuck you good and hard, don’t worry. I’ll hold you down and spank you and bite you and _fuck_ you and make you come so hard, you’ll squirt all over me again.”

She might have been embarrassed had she not been out of her mind with pleasure and ready to burst. “I’m gonna come, Goten, _oh Kami_ -“

“Yeah, baby, it’s okay, you can come,” he purred in her ear, his voice as shaky and breathless as hers. “Let me hear you moan, don’t hold it back. Come for me, Bulla. _My_ Bulla.”

She pressed her face to the phone and gasped sharply as her orgasm crashed over her, the most intense one she’d ever achieved from her own hands. She moaned softly for Goten, mindful to not be _too_ loud, and as she rode out the blissful waves she heard his own groan signaling his end and she listened greedily, imagining the look on his face and the way that his body trembled from the pleasure. 

Afterwards they each laid there panting into their phones, and Bulla was the first to catch her breath and speak. “Hey, Goten?”

He grunted dully, and she smiled fondly. 

“Can you… take another picture?” she asked a little shyly. “I kinda wanna see.”

“... Dirty girl,” he teased. “Hang on.” A moment passed. “All right, sent.”

Biting her lip, Bulla pulled her phone away and watched as a new text appeared. She opened the picture and her jaw went slack as she drank it in. His eyes were heavy with satisfaction and he was still flushed all over, and his entire beautiful, muscular torso was splattered with his come. He always seemed to come _so much_ , and she wondered how much was normal for the average man. Either way, she couldn’t say that she minded. It didn’t taste bad, either. 

“Too bad I’m not there to lick all of that off,” she said with a grin after bringing the phone back to her ear. 

“Yeah, too bad,” he replied, his tone amused. “But if you were here it wouldn’t be on my chest. It would be dripping down your thighs.”

She shuddered, pulling the covers back over herself to chase away a slight chill that was present now that she wasn’t burning anymore. “Not my face, like last time?”

He groaned and she grinned. “That was so fuckin’ hot. I swear, Bulla, sometimes I think you must have been put on this earth specifically to drive me crazy.”

_Funny, that’s what I’ve always thought about you,_ she thought, but she of course she kept _that_ to herself. “Glad to hear I’ve made an impression.”

“To say the least.”

She took a deep breath and, her eyes heavy and sleepy now, she closed them and asked, “So… any chance I could maybe… come over this weekend?”

Goten was silent for a moment, and Bulla prepared herself for the inevitable rejection. This was Goten after all, and his signature move following a sexual encounter was to clam up and wallow in guilt and tell her it could never happen again. But to her surprise, instead he replied, “Yeah, I’m free all day Sunday. Will that work?”

She blinked. That was easier than expected. “Sure.”

“You could come over around 6. I’ll cook dinner.” He paused. “I assume you’ll be telling your parents you’re somewhere else.”

“My alibis are always airtight, don’t worry about that,” she assured him. Then she furrowed her brows. “You can cook? Like… _cook_ cook?”

He chuckled. “Oh yeah. My mom taught me, I learned from the best.”

Huh. Guess she had a lot to learn about Goten after all, just as he did her. “Oh, okay. Awesome. Well… I guess I’ll see you then. We should probably get some sleep now.”

“Yeah, I guess we should. Goodnight, Bulla.”

His voice was so soft and sweet-sounding as he bade her goodnight, and she couldn’t help but smile contentedly and murmur back, “Nite, Goten.”

“Sweet dreams, baby.”

Her stomach flipping at the term of endearment, Bulla waited until he hung up first to drop her phone to the bed and smile stupidly as she let out a long sigh, snuggling more deeply under the covers. Her smile stayed stuck on her face as she fell asleep and even afterwards as she fell into the haze of the pleasant dreams that Goten had wished for her. 

She was so damn in love with him. She always had been, to a degree, but now it was _real_ and palpable and gripping her heart with a force that couldn’t be ignored. 

Loving him would always be the sweetest misery she’d ever know. What she didn’t and couldn’t know was if it would all be worth it in the end, or doomed to disaster. 

—

At 5:56 PM the following Sunday, Goten dried his hands and let out a deep breath as he surveyed the impressive - and massive - dinner he’d spent the last two hours slaving over. Then he glanced at his phone to check the time, and with that he dashed off to the bathroom to check his hair and make sure he was still fully presentable. 

After fiddling with a few stubborn strands and straightening out the collar of his deep blue button down shirt, Goten took a breath and leaned on the sink as he stared at his reflection. Faintly he shook his head and muttered, “The hell are you doing, man?”

Somehow he’d gone from being fully determined to end his and Bulla’s affair to inviting her over for a homecooked dinner in the span of a week, and he was starting to suspect that he was simply just losing his mind. Something about the young princess seemed to entirely prevent him from being able to act logically or even think straight, and he couldn’t figure out _why_. Nobody had ever had this effect on him before and made him feel utterly powerless to his desires, and the worst part of it all was possibly the fact that he couldn’t tell a single soul about it. 

Chi-Chi was still worried about him, though Goten had learned over the weeks to put on a good act and squash the worst of her fears - she was no longer worried that he was involved with the mob or anything equally ridiculous, thank Dende. He’d hung out with Gohan a few days before and that had gone fine, and as far as Goku went, as long as Goten showed up for weekly spars he figured all was well. For once Goten was grateful for his father’s obliviousness.

Goten supposed he was just getting better at lying, though he knew that only went so far. He hadn’t seen Trunks for nearly two weeks and he dreaded when he would again, feeling like it was only a matter of time before Trunks somehow saw through him and just _knew_. 

A soft knock on the door shook Goten from his thoughts. He straightened up and took a breath, trying to ignore the sudden thrill of excitement in his belly as he turned and left the bathroom to head towards the door. 

Once he got there he wasted no time in opening up the door and putting a smile on his face, though he felt like he’d been punched right in the gut when he laid eyes on the young woman on the other side. She smiled up at him brightly, wearing a simple pale yellow and white sundress, small designer purse hanging from her arm, and her long aqua tresses swept in a side braid. 

And most alluring of all, her luscious scent tickled at his nose and made his breath hitch. 

“Hey, Princess,” he greeted softly, silently thinking to himself that she truly _was_ the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. 

“Hey,” she smiled back, stepping inside when he moved aside to let her in. He shut the door behind her and, as he turned back to face her, he felt a sudden rush of nervousness that didn’t make a lick of sense. He’d fucked this woman senseless multiple times and had even had graphic phone sex with her a few nights ago, but a simple _dinner_ with her made him feel awkward? 

“Wow, it smells amazing in here,” she remarked, lightly sniffing at the air. “Reminds me of your mom’s house.”

“Thanks,” he replied, a sheepish hand on the back of his head. “Everything I made is her recipe, so hopefully that means I did it right.”

“I’m sure you did.” She looked him over, eyes lingering on his hips that were encased in well-fitted dark jeans before flitting back up. “You look nice tonight.”

He blushed, hands reaching into his pockets. “Thanks, you too. You look beautiful.”

Bulla grinned and watched him squirm for a moment before noting, “You’re nervous.”

“... Little bit,” he admitted with a grimace. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be weird, I just… for some reason my nerves are all over the place.”

“Aw, don’t be nervous,” she purred, closing the distance between them and reaching her hand to his chest. “It’s just me. And I’ve been looking forward to this.”

His hands enclosed around her hips as if magnets drew them there. “Me too. I really have missed you.”

She smiled and wrapped her arm around his neck, standing up on her toes to place a gentle kiss on his lips. He kissed her back, enjoying the warm but fleeting touch and opening his eyes when he felt her draw away. 

“Can I just… make a request for tonight?”

His brows rose in surprise, but he nodded and replied, “Sure.”

“Well, I’ve been thinking, and… I want to get to know you better,” she explained. “And I want you to know _me_ better. So I was hoping we could do that tonight and talk and just… do things like normal people would, you know?”

He nodded, seeing nothing wrong with the idea. “Okay. Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.”

“I have one condition, though.”

He furrowed his brows, unsure of what to expect. 

“I don’t want us to talk about my brother or my father, or any of _that_ ,” she said, and he didn’t have to ask her to elaborate to know what she meant. “I know that those things are problems for us and I’m not trying to pretend that they aren’t, but I’m sick of it being the only thing we ever talk about. So for one night, can it just be about us? Please?”

Even if he had been opposed to the idea - which he wasn’t - he didn’t think he would have been able to deny her anyway. “Okay. Deal.”

She smiled and leaned up to kiss him again, and this time it lingered. “Thank you.”

He nodded, her scent enveloping him and making him want to get closer, taste her more. But he forced himself to pull away, gesturing to his small kitchen table and saying, “Well, everything’s ready. It should be enough for both of us.”

“Awesome,” she replied, leaving her purse next to her shoes near the door and letting Goten guide her to the table. He pulled her chair out for her like a gentleman and she smiled at him for it, and he blushed back as she took her seat. He then mentally berated his own uselessness in the face of the girl’s natural charm, busying himself with grabbing a chilled bottle of white wine from the fridge and a corkscrew before returning to the table. 

“Ooh,” she teased when she spotted the wine, “serving alcohol to underage girls now?”

He gave her a flat look as he stuck the corkscrew in and started turning it. “Ha ha, so funny.”

She rested her chin on her hand and fluttered her eyelashes at him. “I’m serious. You were all _you’re too young to drink_ when you caught me at the bar before.”

“That was different,” he noted, uncorking the bottle and pouring both of them full glasses. “You were basically a lamb in a lion’s den.”

She rolled her eyes. “Sure, if the lamb was a bajillion times stronger than all the lions put together.”

He shrugged, finally taking a seat opposite her. “Be that as it may.”

She took the glass and raised it to her lips, humming appreciatively as she took a sip. “You’re cute when you get all protective. Or is it possessive?”

He gave her a look as he started piling food on her plate first before his own. “I don’t have the right to be possessive over you, Bulla.”

She shrugged. “I’ve got a bite mark on my neck that says otherwise. Thing’s a real bitch to coverup everyday.”

It took a moment or two, but eventually Goten’s brows furrowed and he looked up at her in surprise. “It’s still there?”

“Yeah, it’s weird. It faded fast but it’s not going away completely,” Bulla said as Goten’s eyes flickered down to the concealed mark between her neck and shoulder. “I even ate half a senzu bean to get rid of it ‘cause I got sick of putting makeup on it every day, but even that did nothing.”

Bulla then started digging into her food, but Goten continued to stare at her neck as an uneasy feeling began to coil in his gut. It wasn’t that Saiyans couldn’t scar - they certainly could, and he had a few of his own - but they just rarely scarred from anything like _that_ . Had he really bitten her _that_ hard? He didn’t think he had, but what other explanation was there?

“So,” she glanced up at him, “how’s work?”

Goten blinked and met her eyes, finding none of his own concern reflected in her, and he let out a breath as he replied, “It’s good. Pretty busy right now, with summer in full swing.”

“Did you ever burn that mat we had sex on?”

Goten nearly choked on his very first bite of food. Bulla laughed at his reaction, and after a drink of water he managed to reply, “No, but I did throw it away. Nothing would have ever gotten your scent out of it and I’d go crazy if I had to deal with that all day.”

She blushed a little bit, smiling softly as she looked down at her plate. “Yeah… Saiyan noses are a gift and a curse, huh.”

“Definitely. So… do you work?” Goten asked curiously. “Or are you in school? Trunks said something about you working on your second degree awhile back but I can’t remember the details.”

A few Saiyan-sized mouthfuls of food later - though she ate with the same grace as Trunks and Vegeta, royalty through and through despite the lack of a throne - Bulla replied, “I finished my second degree. One’s a Master’s and one’s a Bachelor’s. It’s kind of just a formality really, I could have slept through all the classes and still graduated. I only went for the Master’s because I’d hoped it would actually be challenging.”

Goten’s eyes widened. “No shit?”

She shrugged. “Yeah, I mean, my mom got me all the best tutors and had me doing crazy stuff from like 5 up. Chemistry and engineering and capsule tech is all just second nature to me.” She gestured to the food and grinned, “But trying to cook something half as good as this? _That’s_ the hard stuff. I have no idea how you do it, but this is amazing. Maybe even better than your mom’s.”

Goten flushed from the compliment. “Wow, thanks.”

“I can cook a cup of ramen but that’s about it,” she admitted. “My dad’s actually a better cook than me _or_ Trunks.”

“Wow. So… are you working at Capsule Corp now? Officially?”

She nodded. “My mom and Trunks put me in R & D. I’ve got my own lab and everything now.”

“... And you have time to train?”

“As if my dad would give me a choice,” she snorted. “He always uses your brother as an example of what can happen when you slack off your training and spend all your time working. Not your brother now, but before I was born. I’ve heard the Frieza story like five thousand times.”

Goten winced and nodded. “Yeah, that was… rough. So wait, I’m curious - how powerful _are_ you? Because I didn’t even know you could go Super before, but I get the feeling that’s not your limit.”

She smiled coyly and reached for her wine. “That’s a good question.”

He cocked his head. “... And?”

She took a long drink and then set the glass down. “And?”

“... What’s the highest level you can reach?” 

“Maybe one of these days we can have a proper spar and you can find out,” she winked before gracefully attacking her meal again. 

He stared at her with a mixture of slight frustration but mostly awe. It seemed like with every word she said, she only pulled him in deeper and made him want to get lost in her even more. 

_She’s the definition of dangerous._

“So,” she smoothly changed the subject, “I remember going to your college graduation ceremony when I was like 9 but I can’t remember what you studied.”

“My degree is in restaurant management,” he replied with a wry smile. “And as you can see, I’ve put it to _great_ use.”

“Dude, why haven’t you?” Bulla asked, gesturing to the table and all the goodies laid upon it. “You are so good, you could have your own restaurant and be a huge success.”

“That was my plan, but to be honest the hours and the lack of flexibility really killed the idea for me,” he admitted. “I worked as a sous chef for awhile and I didn’t like it. Took the joy out of cooking.”

“Aw, that sucks,” she frowned. “But you seem to be doing well with the dojo, so I guess it all worked out?”

Goten nodded, smiling. “Yeah, I love it. Sometimes people can be difficult but most of the time it’s great. And it’s a lot less stressful than a restaurant.” Then he paused and, recalling her words, asked with a surprised grin, “You remember my graduation?”

She blushed and looked down, an embarrassed smile touching her lips. “Um… yeah. It was the first time I ever saw you with short hair, plus… you let me wear your cap in the picture you took with me and my family. So it was pretty memorable for me.”

Goten stared at her in surprise, his own memory of the event far more spotty. He mostly remembered being embarrassed by Chi-Chi’s endearing but slightly humiliating tear-filled gushing over her baby boy graduating from college, and Goku snoring in the seats when Goten actually walked the stage. “... You liked me even then?”

Now picking at her food and clearly more nervous than she’d been all night, Bulla muttered, “I’ve always liked you. I thought it was obvious.”

Goten stared at her like she had three heads. “ _Obvious_?”

“Yeah,” she squirmed, still avoiding his eyes, “I mean, that’s what my brother always said. And Pan. And my mom.” She glanced up and noticed Goten’s aghast expression, quickly adding, “They all think I got over it years ago. Though my dad still gives me the side-eye whenever you’re around, but he’s… you know. My dad.”

Goten’s mind was _blown_. “I… wow. I never had a clue. Never noticed anything.”

Bulla gave him a bittersweet smile. “Trust me, I know. I tried to get your attention a few times once I was older, but you were always just… oblivious.”

His own meal long forgotten by this point, Goten leaned in a little closer unconsciously and asked, “When did you try to get my attention?”

“... It was all embarrassing,” she shook her head. “Probably better that you don’t know.”

“No, I want to,” he said softly. “I won’t make fun of you or laugh, I promise. I’m just curious.”

She sighed heavily but gave in. “Well… remember on my 16th birthday, when I asked you to help me put on a necklace I got from my grandparents? You didn’t even think twice about it but I only asked you so you’d touch me.” She rolled her eyes at herself. “I got such a big thrill out of it. I was ridiculous.”

Goten frowned, but not because of the story itself. He frowned because he didn’t remember that at _all_. 

“Then, when I was 17, you came along with me, Trunks, and my mom on a shopping trip. I tried on a bunch of dresses that I thought you might like.” She wrinkled her nose and cringed, “Including an orange one that I’d normally never look at because orange is _not_ my color, but…”

Now _that_ he remembered. “Oh! I remember that. That was the first time I really noticed how much you’d grown up. I mean, I didn’t look at you like _that_ , but I just - you filled out those clothes pretty well and - ugh, there’s no way to say it without sounding like a creep.”

She giggled. “It’s okay. I mean, I was kind of going for that.” She paused and idly fingered the stem of her wine glass, adding, “Then there was the time you came over for dinner and I got all dressed up and went to the door to greet you and you completely ignored me and flew past me without a word to sneak up on Trunks and tackle him.” She paused, shaking her head at herself. “I’d spent an hour on my hair and you completely ruined it when you flew by.”

Goten grimaced. “Oh man. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah… so I pretty much gave up after awhile. Not that I ever thought you’d actually be interested, it’s just… your attention felt good. It always has. So any way I could get it…” she looked up at him and shrugged. “But when I turned 18 I started dating for real and tried to put all that in the past. And I did for awhile. But none of the guys I went out with could hold my attention for very long. And they just weren’t… very good at things.”

Goten raised a brow. “Things?”

“None of them could get me off,” she replied bluntly. “They thought sticking their tongue down my throat and jabbing at me under my skirt would be enough to get me to fuck them, and yeah… it was super disappointing. So that’s why I decided to try to go after an older guy who’d have a better chance of knowing what he was doing.” She shot him a saucy grin. “And I totally made the right call there.”

Goten drew in a shaky breath at that, running a hand through his hair and allowing a small smile to form on his lips. “You know… that night when I walked into the bar, your scent hit me like a freight train. It was fucking amazing and I took one look at you and knew I had to have you. I just… had no idea it was _you_.”

“My scent?” she asked curiously. 

“Yeah. I’d never really noticed it before, but it’s incredible.”

She was quiet for a moment. “You know, it’s funny you say that, because it was kinda like that for me, too. Not the night at the bar, but way before that when I was like 15. You and Trunks were at my house sparring and I walked by and your scent hit me and it was like…” She swallowed and blushed. “I had to go to my room for awhile, put it that way.”

Goten blushed too, not sure what to think of having such an effect on such a young girl. But that was in the past and it wasn’t as if it had been on purpose on either of their parts. “Saiyan noses, I guess.”

“Yeah… but it’s more than just that,” she noted. “Like, some people smell pretty good, but none of them smell the way you do. I guess it could be a Saiyan thing, but my brother and my dad aren’t like that. And your dad and Gohan, they just… smell like your dad and Gohan. And Pan just smells like Pan. But you smell like… sex and… dominance, and… safety.”

Goten froze, her words bringing a rush of heat through his spine. 

“What do I smell like to you?” she asked quietly, both of them seemingly long beyond any interest in eating. 

Goten swallowed hard, clearing his throat and replying, “You smell like…” He closed his eyes and shuddered faintly, focusing on her scent and breathing it in from across the table. “Power. Sweetness. Like… _fuck_. I don’t know how to put it into words. Your scent makes me want to… just…” 

He opened his eyes and locked them with hers, finding his same hunger and passion mirrored back within those blue pools. 

“... It makes me lose control,” he admitted. “ _You_ make me lose control.”

She didn’t say a word. Instead she gently scooted her chair back and rose to her feet, dropping all pretenses of eating and walking Goten’s way as he watched her with increasingly hungry eyes. Then, once she reached him, she sat sideways on his lap and draped her arms around his neck, murmuring, “Control is overrated.” Then she kissed him, and he groaned as he pulled her closer and happily lost himself in her kiss. 

She tasted so good, like wine and danger and _Bulla_ , and her scent was somehow extra enticing tonight. He wasn’t sure why that was, but soon he was breaking their kiss to bury his face in her neck and breathe her in deeply, and some sort of odd, buried instincts began to drive his actions. 

He nosed against the strangely still-present bite mark on her neck, then growled at the concealer hiding most of it from view. He licked at the mark and then used his thumb to wipe as much of the makeup away as he could, and once the mark was visible, he felt somehow satisfied. Then he leaned in and kissed it, and Bulla _shuddered_ in his lap. 

He flicked his tongue against the mark and nipped at it lightly, and she moaned and squirmed in his lap. “God that feels good,” she whispered, pulling at his head to press his face even closer. He didn’t mind, her scent particularly concentrated and intoxicating right there, and by the time that he was done kissing and sucking at the mark, it was a deep purple like before and utterly gorgeous in his opinion. 

He pressed his thumb to it, making her tremble. “Beautiful,” he murmured, admiring his work and the way it looked on her. “ _My Bulla._ ”

His words came out in a low growl from deep in his chest, and they made Bulla whimper and press her lips to his in a quiet frenzy. He didn’t really know what he was saying or what he was doing, but it didn’t matter. What he was doing was _right_ , he knew deep down in his soul, and there was no reason to stop or hesitate. 

Goten’s hand slid up Bulla’s thigh and under the hem of her dress, and as they kissed deeply in a sudden explosion of hunger, he ran his hand over her hip and paused when he found her bare. She noticed his surprise and grinned against his lips, pulling away and shifting to tug her dress up and over her belly, and when she pulled it over her head, Goten was stunned to find her completely naked. 

Clearly delighted by his reaction, she dropped the dress to the floor and murmured, “The less time wasted taking stuff off the better.”

“... _Fuck_ ,” Goten groaned before gripping her close to his chest and standing up, a quick and light ki blast towards the table top sending everything on it crashing to the floor. Then he set her on the table and kissed her long and hard for a moment before pushing her down to her back and rumbling as he shoved her legs apart, “Guess I’m having _you_ for dessert.”

She shuddered in anticipation, and he looked down to find her already wet and glistening for him. A primal hunger overtaking him, he bent low and brought his mouth to her core, relishing in her shaky moan as he began devouring her. 

Bulla reached up and gripped the edge of the table behind her head, hanging on tightly as Goten worked his magic on her. He moaned with satisfaction as he drank her in, his tongue tireless and skills unrivaled, and when he slipped two fingers inside her to drive her even further, she cried out and gripped the table so hard it began to crack under her fingers. 

It wasn’t long until he could sense her impending release - her ki fluctuated wildly whenever she got close, and by now he knew exactly what it felt like - and he looked up to watch her as he closed his lips over her clit and sucked while his fingers curled just right. It was only mere seconds before she gasped and arched up, rocking erratically against his face as she came hard while moaning his name. He groaned low and pleased against her flesh, finding the act of bringing her pleasure just as satisfying as experiencing his own. 

Then he straightened up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he gazed down at her panting, limp figure. He was still fully dressed and she was fully bare, and he was far too preoccupied to think about undressing himself. Instead he tugged her to the end of the table and pulled her up, his hand wrapped around the back of her neck as he kissed her and held her close. 

She clung to him with still-shaky limbs, gasping softly when he reached down between them and tripped two fingers through her wetness. “Did you know,” he murmured as he looked into her eyes, fingers rising to gently press against her lips, “you’ve got the sweetest little pussy I’ve ever tasted?”

She blushed at the words and whimpered as she opened up and took his fingers in, licking and sucking and never breaking eye contact as she did. 

“Good girl,” he praised her, licking his lips and watching her through heavy eyes. “See how good you taste? Good enough to eat.”

When he pulled his fingers free she groaned and grabbed at his shirt, ripping it right down the middle and sending buttons flying all over the place. “Fuck me, Goten. I need you in me, _now_.”

He was all too happy to oblige, reaching down to quickly shove his jeans down and out of the way. The very second his cock was free, Bulla grabbed it and guided him into her, and they both sighed and watched as his length gradually disappeared inside of her. Small, soft hands cupped Goten’s face and tugged him up for a kiss, and the fire in Goten’s soul sparked anew. 

As he started rocking, Bulla leaned back on her palms and Goten slung one of her legs over his arm, his eyes raking in the sight of her with her head tilted back and perfect lips parted. He leaned forward and pressed his face back to that curious mark on her neck, her scent and the heat of her body making his eyes roll back in his head, and with a low growl he began picking up the pace and fucking into her like he meant it. 

She held her hand in his hair, gripping it tight and guiding his face down lower until it was at her breast, and he didn’t hesitate to open his mouth and greedily lick and play with her nipple. He could feel her tighten around him when he started sucking on the sensitive flesh, and he glanced up and felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of her blissed-out face. 

He stared at her in awe. She was so beautiful and vibrant and powerful and brilliant, confident and simply mesmerizing. His feelings for her ran deeper than mere lust, he realized, and how could they not? He had loved and cared for her since the day she was born, and it was in his very blood to serve and protect her with everything he had in him. It used to be an innocent and pure sort of devotion, but now… _oh_ , _now_. 

Now he wanted her all to himself. He wanted to be the only one to touch her and please her, the only one to ever know how gorgeous she looked when she was coming, how hot and tight she was inside, how she _gushed_ when he pushed her over that edge and into bliss. He wanted to be the only name she ever called out in ecstasy, the only man who got to see his Princess like this. 

He wanted Bulla to be his, and in turn, he wanted to be hers. 

Bulla pulled him back up, kissing him desperately as they climbed higher and higher, her body starting to tremble tellingly as she whispered, “Say it, Goten.”

He didn’t need to ask to know what she meant. He leaned his forehead against hers and, bringing a hand down between them to touch her and hasten her end, he whispered, “Mine.”

She gasped at the pleasure but opened her eyes and looked up at him determinedly. “Say it like you mean it.”

His eyes darkened and his voice became a feral growl, his free hand grabbing a handful of her hair as he bared his teeth and intoned, “ _Mine_.”

She began to arch, flushing hotly all the way down to her belly button. “ _Oh God -_ “

He licked over that bite mark on her neck, drawn to it for reasons he didn’t understand but couldn’t question. “ _Fuck_ , I wish you could be mine,” he confessed, his words muffled against her neck, but he suspected he heard them when she tightened around him and came with a broken cry. He then wrapped both arms around her and snapped his hips one, two, three more times, then spilled inside of her as he gasped into her skin. 

In the moments that followed, Goten tried desperately to hold on to the afterglow and the warm and fuzzy feelings that came with it, knowing that the minute it faded away he’d have to deal with the very much unwelcome realization he’d had only moments ago. His head resting on Bulla’s chest, their arms wrapped around each other, he took a deep breath and started peppering sweet kisses across her skin. Eventually he nuzzled between her breasts, just breathing her in and enjoying her warmth, and she shifted against him in a way that made his cock twitch inside of her. She mewled softly at the sensation, shifting again and seemingly seeking out more, and he responded with a gentle, small thrust that made her shiver and tighten her arms around him. 

He chuckled. “Want more already, baby?”

“Too much for you?” she teased, and as he lifted his head to meet her gaze, he grinned and rolled his hips again, a little more deeply this time. 

“Princess,” he murmured as he cupped her cheek, drawing in close, “I’m a Saiyan. Nothing’s too much for me.”

She giggled and he smirked as they kissed again, and as he began to harden again fully and ramp up for round two, they were happily adrift in their happy little bubble until a distinct, unmistakable _pop_ made them break apart and look towards the kitchen. 

There in all of his orange and blue glory was Goku, two fingers to his forehead and an oblivious smile on his face as he chirped, “Hey, son!” Then Goku blinked, taking in the rather unexpected scene before him. “And… Bulla?”

_Well, shit._

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, Goku 🤪


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goten and Bulla grapple with Goku learning their secret, and later on, Bulla discovers the truth behind her & Goten’s increasingly strange connection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I struggled with parts of this chapter and I really hope it doesn’t suck 😂 thank you guys as always for your feedback, every comment I get is like opening a present at Christmas!! 🥺🥺🥺 hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I’ll see you soon! (surprisingly no smut in this chapter but it’ll be back in the next one 🤣)

_ “Hey, son!” Goku blinked, taking in the rather unexpected scene before him. “And… Bulla?” _

Goten’s heart sank. Bulla screeched in horror and flashed out of sight before Goten could even process what was happening, and he heard his bedroom door slam shut. Assuming that Bulla was hiding in there, Goten quickly shoved himself back into his pants and refastened them before looking at his father incredulously and blurting, “Dad, we’ve talked about this! You can’t just instant transmission over here whenever you feel like it!”

“Sorry, I forgot!” Goku cringed, his expression apologetic but still maddening. “Hey, I had no idea you and Bulla were going out - how long’s that been going on?”

“It’s - we’re not  _ going out _ , it’s complicated,” Goten muttered, running a hand through his hair. He tried to button his shirt back up only to remember that Bulla had ripped all the buttons off, so he gave up with a sigh and put his hands on his hips. “Dad, you can’t tell anyone about this.”

Goku tilted his head. “Really? Why not?”

Goten groaned. “Because, Dad, it’s  _ Bulla _ !”

“What’s wrong with Bulla? I think the two of you make sense, you’re both Saiyans, after all,” Goku pointed out innocently. “I know for a fact your mother wouldn’t mind it.”

“It’s not Mom I’m worried about, it’s Vegeta and Trunks and… listen, that’s not important right now. What’s important is you gotta promise me you’ll keep this a secret, okay, Dad?” Goten pled, panic rising as he realized that Goku - the worst secret keeper he’d ever known - was now the only person outside of himself and Bulla to know what was going on between them. Goku, Vegeta’s arguably best friend and regular sparring partner. Goku, probably the worst person outside of Vegeta or Trunks who could have found out. 

“Sure, I won’t tell anyone,” Goku shrugged, “but I really don’t see the big deal.”

Goten sighed wearily. “It’s a big deal, trust me.”

“All right, well… if you say so.” Goku then glanced down at the floor and audibly gasped at the mess of food and dishes on the floor next to the table. “Oh man, what happened here?! So much good food gone to waste!” Then his eyes made it to Bulla’s sundress on the floor right next to all the mess, and he said, “ _ Ohhhh _ .”

Goten blushed brightly and buried his face in his hands. “ _ Dad… _ ”

Goku rubbed at the back of his head and giggled. “Sorry, not trying to embarrass you or anything. At least it’s not as bad as that one time I found you all tied up and stuff with those two big guys in leather and -“

“Dad!!” Goten shrieked. “We agreed to never speak of that again!”

“Oh man, sorry, I just keep making it worse, don’t I?” Goku grimaced. “I’ll shut up and go!”

“Wait - why did you even come here to begin with?” 

“Oh!” Goku’s eyes lit up. “I came to invite you over for dinner tomorrow.”

Goten stared at him flatly. “... You instant transmissioned over here at,” he glanced at the time display on his oven, “8 o’clock at night without warning, to invite me over for dinner?”

“Sure did! Your mom told me to invite you earlier but I forgot until now, I got distracted training with Vegeta,” Goku shrugged. 

Goten opened his mouth to further express his massive frustration with his father, but Bulla’s energy disappearing from the apartment gave him pause. He looked towards his room and focused on her ki only to find it quickly moving away, and he let out a disappointed sigh. She’d probably grabbed some clothes and escaped through the window in a panic, and he couldn’t blame her. This is  _ not _ how he wanted the night to end. 

“What’s wrong?”

Goten shrugged. “Nothing. I felt Bulla leave just now.”

“Really?” Goku furrowed his brows for a moment, feeling out her ki for himself. “I can’t sense a thing. She must be suppressing her energy.”

“What? How can you not sense that?” Goten asked, flummoxed. “It’s like a giant beacon.”

Goku shook his head. “Nope. I don’t know what you’re sensing, but it can’t be Bulla. I know what her energy feels like and it’s nowhere near here, that’s for sure.”

Slightly worried that Goku was losing his touch in his advancing age - not that he didn’t have plenty of years left, but still - Goten decided to table that discussion for now. “Okay, well… can you just… promise me that you won’t say anything?”

“Son, I already did,” Goku chuckled. “I know I’m not the best at keeping secrets but I can tell that this is really important to you, so I won’t say anything, okay? I promise.”

Goten deflated with relief, Goku’s words genuine and the best reassurance that he was gonna get. “Okay. Thanks, Dad.”

“No problem. By the way,” Goku sniffed the air and wrinkled his nose, “it smells really weird in here.”

Goten blushed. “Well duh, Dad, it smells like - “

“No, I don’t mean that,” Goku shook his head, continuing to sniff noisily. “It’s not just sex. I can’t put my finger on it. I don’t think I’ve ever smelled it before, actually, but whatever it is it’s really strong. It’s making me want to leave, actually, and I don’t even know why. But you probably want me to go, so I guess I will. Remember, dinner tomorrow! See ya, son!”

And then, with a wave of his hand, Goku was gone. Goten stood there staring at the now empty space where Goku had been, wondering what the hell had just happened and hoping against hope that Goku would actually keep his word and not spill the truth to anyone. He felt for Bulla’s ki again and found it stationary, and he realized she was already back at Capsule Corp. He walked to his room and pushed the door open to find the window indeed open and his dresser a mess, like she’d rifled through it in a panicked rush. Her scent was all over the room, lingering and teasing his nose, and he wished like hell that the night had been able to end the way that he’d intended rather than the way it had. 

He groaned and flopped down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He could feel the situation already spiraling out of his control, racing towards certain doom, but it was too late to stop it now. He’d strapped into this ride, for better or worse, and there was no getting off until it reached whatever probably-horrible end was waiting for them. 

_ Never should have walked into that bar, Goten _ . 

He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath, a restless, uneasy feeling starting to take hold deep in his gut. He blamed it on the general anxiety of the situation but he quickly realized it was something different. 

He sat up and looked down at his somewhat shaky hands, clenching them into fists and finding himself unable to think of anything but Bulla and if she was okay. She was distressed, he knew somehow - he could feel it, feel her fear as if it were his own despite knowing full well that it made no sense and was impossible, outside of fusion, to feel someone else’s emotions - and he felt an almost irresistible drive to comfort her. It almost felt like he’d crawl out of his skin if he  _ didn’t _ , and the urge was so strong and sudden it genuinely scared him a little bit. 

_ Relax, Goten, she’s fine _ , he told himself.  _ She just got scared and went home, totally understandable considering. Just call her and make sure she’s okay.  _

_ No _ , his instincts raged back at him.  _ Not good enough. Go to her, now. She’s scared. Your Princess needs you. _

He grimaced and raked a hand through his hair, breaking into a sweat. Showing up at Capsule Corp when her parents were home was too risky, he couldn’t do it. He could suppress his ki but not his scent, and if Vegeta or Trunks caught a single whiff of him near Bulla’s room… 

_ Doesn’t matter, she comes first. She needs you. Go to her now, prove that she’s the most important to you. _

Goten stood up with a growl, giving into the maddening and confusing urges. He swapped his torn shirt for a basic white t shirt and then flew out of his window at top speed, suppressing his ki and never once questioning the fact that he’d just thought of her as the most important person of all to him. 

—

After quickly showering and washing Goten’s scent and  _ other _ parts of him from her body, Bulla put on the comfiest pajamas she owned and curled up in bed with the lights off. She wasn’t tired and normally wouldn’t be going to bed for several hours yet, but tonight she didn’t have the energy for anything but laying there and trying not to cry over the ungodly humiliation she’d endured earlier. 

Fucking Goku. Her dad was right - he really was a fucking idiot. And now he knew about her and Goten  _ and _ he’d seen her naked, with Goten’s dick inside her no less. Not that he’d had time to see that much before she’d fled, but still. 

Humiliating. And worrying. 

She hugged a pillow to her chest and closed her eyes, a shudder of dread running through her. Goten was freaking out, she just knew it. 

No, she  _ actually _ knew it, she realized with a start. She opened her eyes and blinked, wondering if she was losing her mind or if the weird feeling deep in her chest was real. It wasn’t her own tangled up emotions she was feeling, knowing instinctively that it was his fear that she felt even if the very concept made no logical sense. 

_ This is it, I’m losing it _ , she thought, burrowing deeper under the covers and feeling a cold prickle of panic crawling up her spine. Her usually sharp, brilliant mind felt like jumbled up mush, and she felt another wave of tears threatening to overcome her before a sudden jolt from within stole her attention. 

_ Goten’s ki. _ He was coming her way and coming fast. 

She threw the covers off and raced to her balcony doors, muttering, “Is he out of his mind?! He’s not even trying to hide it!”

Within only seconds, she watched as his dark figure briefly appeared in the night sky before swiftly and silently touching down on her balcony. She threw the doors open and yanked him inside once he was close enough, whisper-yelling, “Are you insane? My dad will sense you a mile away!”

“I’m hiding my ki!” he whispered back, looking her over as his hands gently ran over her arms. “Are you okay?”

“I’m - what do you mean you’re hiding your ki? I felt you coming, it was as subtle as a giant Christmas tree.”

Goten’s brows furrowed. “But…”

“I’m hiding  _ my _ ki,” Bulla pointed out, “because I told my mom I’d be out later and I don’t wanna deal with questions. But you’re  _ broadcasting _ yours.”

Goten’s face grew even more bewildered. “Bulla, you’re not suppressing anything. I could feel how upset you were from my apartment.”

Bulla froze, staring at him in alarm. “That’s… impossible. Wait,” she blinked, “you could  _ feel _ how upset I was?”

“I can’t explain it but yeah,” he muttered, not looking any less freaked out than she felt. “I don’t know what’s going on but I had to check on you and make sure that you’re okay after… my dad… you know.”

Bulla blushed brightly and looked down, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m fine, I guess. More embarrassed than I’ve ever been in my life but whatever, I’ll get over it. I’m more worried about your dad blabbing to my dad.”

Goten sighed and nodded, his hand running down her arm and linking with her own. Her heart leapt - this wasn’t something he normally did with her. “I talked to him and explained that he can’t tell anyone, and I swore him to secrecy. He promised not to say a word to anyone.”

“Do you really trust him to keep his mouth shut though?” Bulla asked quietly, distracted by his thumb rubbing soothing circles over the back of her hand. 

“... I trust him to do his best,” Goten replied, expression slightly pained. “I’m really sorry, Bulla. Trust me, this is not how I wanted our night to end. I feel terrible.”

“It’s not your fault,” she shook her head, looking up at him through her lashes. “And… I think I should be the one apologizing.”

“Why? You haven’t done anything wrong,” he pointed out, confused. 

“Yeah, I have,” she muttered, admitting wrongdoing and apologies never having been her strong suits. But she sucked it up and forced the words out anyway. “I’ve been… really selfish this whole time. I didn’t really care about what you were risking at first and how all of this might affect you… and what it might cost you… but now I…” 

Bulla trailed off, swallowing down a sudden lump in her throat. A horrible, unbearable knot made of bone-deep fear took hold in her gut, and it wasn’t her own - it was Goten’s. It was the fear of losing his second family, of losing his other half in Trunks, and the fear of what the hell his life would even look like without him in it. It was utterly  _ crushing _ , like nothing Bulla had ever felt before, and tears began to fall from her eyes as she added shakily, “I’m sorry. I don’t want you to lose my brother, I never wanted that. I never wanted to screw anything up, I just - I just wanted -“

“ _ Bulla _ ,” Goten whispered, reaching up and wiping her tears away as he watched her in great surprise. When she let out a soft sob he pulled her close, enveloping her in his arms. “Don’t cry, Princess.  _ Shhh _ .”

Bulla didn’t understand what was happening to her. She wasn’t the sort to burst into tears out of nowhere like this, and while she didn’t lack empathy, this level of it wasn’t something she understood or knew how to deal with. She cried into Goten’s chest and allowed his scent to wash over her, comforting her, and when Goten began to nuzzle that curious mark on her neck, she felt all the tension and overwhelming emotion start to instantly drain out of her. 

It reminded her of taking a brutal beating in training and then taking a senzu bean, and feeling that instant rush of relief and healing. With just that simple touch, it was as if her equilibrium was entirely restored, and her emotions and mind were purely hers once more. She sank even more heavily into Goten’s arms and enjoyed the newfound peace until she realized it was only further proof of just how weird everything had become. 

“Goten,” she asked with her cheek pressed to his chest, his heartbeat a steady thud in her ear, “what’s happening to us? None of this is normal.”

“I know,” Goten sighed, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. “Even when we hide our ki, we can still sense each other. We’re feeling what the other’s feeling, and this,” he pressed a gentle fingertip to her mark, “isn’t healing. And I feel like I’m out of my fucking mind - I couldn’t stay away from you, I had to know you were okay. I had to comfort you. I felt like I’d die if I didn’t.”

She pulled away and looked up at him in alarm. “What does that mean?”

He shrugged helplessly. “I have no idea. It almost reminds me of fusion - when me and Trunks are fused I can feel what he feels, think what he thinks. It’s like no boundaries exist, or ever existed, and like we’ve always been one person. It’s weird and… intimate. But this is different. I don’t know what this is.”

Bulla definitely didn’t either, but if she had to guess… their Saiyan biology was almost certainly to blame. The problem was, the only Saiyan alive who held potentially relevant and helpful knowledge as to what might be ailing them was her father, who wasn’t an option. 

Sometimes it really sucked being a partial product of a dead race. 

“Maybe I can ask Whis,” she thought out loud. “He probably doesn’t know, but maybe he can point me in the right direction of someone who does.”

“Whis?” Goten repeated. “Like, the angel Whis?”

Bulla gave him an amused look. “No, a goldfish named Whis.  _ Duh _ the angel, who else?”

Goten cracked a smile and shrugged. “I didn’t know you were on those kinds of terms with him.”

“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me,” she answered wryly. “But yes. I think he might be our best shot. Unless you think your brother might know something? Didn’t he do a bunch of research on Saiyan biology and stuff awhile back?”

“He did, but it was more on the lines of anatomy, medical research, things like that. Not so much weird mental links and irregular ki.”

Bulla bit her lip. “Whis it is, then. And if that doesn’t work, I guess there’s always Shenron.”

Goten let out a quiet sigh. “Okay.” He ran his fingers through her hair, asking quietly, “You sure you’re okay?”

“I feel much better now,” she admitted with a small smile. “I’m sorry I panicked and left like that. That was probably shitty to do but I just…”

“No, I understand,” he assured her. “Don’t apologize.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes rolling down to his lips. “Until your dad ruined everything I was having a  _ really _ good time. Thank you for dinner and… dessert.”

He grinned back, his hands drifting to her hips. “I should be thanking you, Princess. You drive me crazy, you know that?”

She replied by leaning up on her tiptoes and pressing a soft kiss to his lips. He kissed her back sweetly, the contact soothing her still-frayed nerves and quieting her mind, and she sighed as she pulled away and admitted, “I wish you could stay the night.”

Never once had they spent the night together since the start of their affair, and Bulla hadn’t expected to want it as much as she did. She expected Goten to gently shoot down the idea but instead he murmured, “Me too. Maybe one day soon we can work something out and you can stay the night at my place.”

She glanced up at him with a surprised smile. “Since when are you so… I don’t know… chill about this? Who are you and what have you done with Goten?”

He flushed and smiled sheepishly, giving a small shake of his head. “I don’t know. I really don’t. I feel like I’m going crazy. I think you broke me, or I’m just losing it.”

“Aw,” she cooed, kissing him again and running her fingers through his hair, calming him. “It’s not so bad, is it? I mean… is it really that bad to care about me?”

He sighed, pressing his forehead to hers, his eyes closed. “Bulla, I’ve cared for you since the day you were born. I just… never expected any of this. It’s hard for me to reconcile it all.”

“I know,” she replied softly, and for once she meant it. “But no matter how this turns out, I’m glad it happened. I’m glad you were my first. I spent so long dreaming about it and imagining how it might be, and you just… made it so much better. And each time it just gets more and more amazing. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

He gazed at her softly, tucking a strand of aqua hair behind her ear. He didn’t reply, instead kissing her forehead before leaning down and picking her up bridal style, taking her by surprise. 

He carried her to her bed, laying her down gently in her mass of pillows and blankets. He sat at her side and brushed her bangs out of her eyes, his voice just above a whisper as he said, “I should go.”

She caught his hand before he could pull away. “Not yet. Can’t you stay a little longer?”

He hesitated. “The longer I’m here the harder it’s gonna be for you to get rid of my scent.”

“I don’t care. Trust me, I know how to hide things from my family.” Her fingers intertwined with his. “Just… can you… hold me for a little bit? Until I fall asleep? Please?”

Goten looked from their linked hands to her pleading eyes, and she  _ knew _ she had him. His gaze softened and then he was pulling away only to walk to the other side of the bed and crawl into it beside her. She smiled at him as he snuggled up to her, being the big spoon to her little one and pulling her against his chest, his arm wrapped around her middle. 

Sliding her hand into his hair and turning her head back to face him, Bulla pulled him into a gentle, lingering kiss. He kissed her back and his arm tightened around her, his hand slipping up under her shirt as the kiss began to grow in intensity. She mewled and curled her fingers into his locks, coaxing his tongue into playing with hers, and he groaned deeply into her mouth before pulling away. “Better stop before I get carried away.”

She grinned, palm sliding down over his jaw. “Sounds like fun.”

He gave her a look. “I’m already playing with fire being here at all, Princess. I can’t keep my ki hidden when I’m fucking.”

She frowned, unable to argue with that. “Ah. Well, that’s okay.” She pressed one last gentle kiss to his lips and then turned back in his arms, cuddling back against him and laying her hand over his. She let out a deep breath and closed her eyes, softly adding, “Thank you for staying, Goten.”

He responded by kissing the curve of her neck, nuzzling the mark there and once again making all the tension drain from her body. “Anything for you, baby.”

Bulla fell into a deep sleep within mere minutes, feeling safe and warm and impossibly relaxed in Goten’s arms. He lingered for longer than he should have, watching her sleep and fighting the urge to stay wrapped around her all night, protecting her and watching over her. It damn near caused him physical pain but after about half an hour had passed, he managed to pull himself away and quietly slip back out into the night without waking her. 

Bulla slept better than she had in weeks. Goten, on the other hand, barely slept at all. 

—

The next day, Bulla awoke to her father being gone and her mother telling her that he’d gone to Beerus’ world to train with Whis. With that news effectively ruining Bulla’s plans to take her and Goten’s little problem to the angel for help, she decided to spend her day working in her lab while debating the next best course of action. 

Shenron would be a very quick and easy way of acquiring information but the problem was, her mother and everyone else in their circle would know that he’d been summoned and would have questions as to why. While she could easily think of a cover story, she really didn’t want to - the more low key the better in this situation. 

Over the course of the day, her mind kept drifting to Gohan and what he might know. Back when she’d been around 10 or so, he had worked hard on compiling as much research and information on Saiyan biology and health that he could. He had worked with Bulma closely, taking blood and DNA samples from each person with Saiyan heritage, and at the time Bulla hadn’t cared much about any of it but now she couldn’t help but wonder just how comprehensive the research had been. She remembered Vegeta spending hours with Gohan giving “interviews” for the project and how much it annoyed her because she wanted him to play games or train with her, but he claimed what he was doing was of the utmost importance. 

Only one way to find out for sure. After a quick and late lunch in the mid afternoon, Bulla got to work at her computer station and began to dig through her mother’s private server, knowing that Gohan would have provided Bulma a finished file of the project and that she would have stored it on her ultra secure, completely locked down personal server. 

It took Bulla some time to get on the right track - and she had to be careful, because Kami knew her parents were into some freaky stuff and she didn’t want to stumble into a folder full of cursed images she’d never unsee - but eventually she found what she was looking for. Her stomach squirmed with anxiety as she opened the rather sizable file and began to skim its contents, wanting desperately to find answers but also terrified at the mere thought of it. Her gut was telling her that she wasn’t gonna like the truth once she found it, and that her worst fears were going to be confirmed. 

And her worst fear was, specifically, that she and Goten had accidentally created some kind of weird alien bond between them that could never be broken, and that the mark on her neck that refused to heal and fade was the physical manifestation of it. 

_ Calm down _ , she told herself inwardly,  _ you know how crazy that idea is. Get it together and just read through the damn file and see if any of it’s relevant. _

Most of it wasn’t. Gohan and Bulma had been extremely detailed in their work, recording a seemingly endless amount of data regarding Saiyan biology and cell structure and anatomy, but none of it pertained to Bulla’s concerns. She was starting to lose hope when she stumbled across a chapter titled  _ Saiyan reproduction and mating habits, _ and that was when her heart dropped into her belly and her anxiety kicked into high gear. 

_ Oh boy _ . This might be it. 

After taking a deep, calming breath, she began to read. Approximately seven minutes later, the pit in her gut had become as heavy as lead and her heart was racing, her eyes filling with hot tears, and she was in a full-blown panic as she began to nearly hyperventilate. 

She’d found what she was looking for, but she almost immediately wished she could take it back and live in ignorance. 

—

Meanwhile, at Mt. Paozu, Goten had been carrying a large serving bowl full of freshly chopped salad to his parents’ dinner table when a horrible, awful, unbearable sensation of panic and distress hit him like a freight train. The bowl shattered between his hands and he collapsed to the floor on his knees, clutching his chest as he gasped for breath, and all at once his entire family surrounded him in sudden concern. 

Goku, Chi-Chi, Gohan and Pan all knelt beside him on the kitchen floor, shouting words of worry at him that he couldn’t understand or process. All he knew was that Bulla was hurting and panicking and that he needed to go to her, needed to protect her, needed to make it all better, but he couldn’t, he  _ couldn’t _ , he - 

“Son?” Goku asked Goten quietly, cradling his face as if he were a child and looking into his pained eyes. 

“What’s going on, Grandpa?” Pan asked, watching in great alarm and physically restraining Chi-Chi from smothering Goten and making it all worse. 

“Are you sick, Goten?” Gohan asked, peering at the hand still grabbing at Goten’s chest. “Could it be that heart virus Dad got?”

Ignoring them, Goten reached a shaky hand to Goku’s gi and pulled him close enough to whisper into his ear, “ _ Bulla _ .”

Goku pulled away and stared at Goten in pure confusion, but it was enough to prompt him to at least understand that Goten needed to get out of there. 

“I’ll take him to the Lookout and have Dende look at him,” Goku announced before putting two fingers to his forehead and vanishing out of sight. 

—

_ No, no, no, no. Please, no.  _

Tears streamed down Bulla’s face, blurring the computer screen that she was still staring at. Her hands were clasped over her mouth and she was losing control of her ki as she spiraled harder and harder into her panic, but she didn’t have the strength or the awareness to stop it. 

Little did she know, it was only about to get worse. 

_ Bulla!  _

She gasped and fell out of her chair, landing ungracefully on the floor with wide eyes. What the hell was  _ that _ ? Now she was hearing voices, too?!

_ Bulla, goddammit, what’s wrong?! _

She let out a scared shriek before slapping her hands over her mouth again. That was definitely Goten’s voice that she heard in her head, but that was impossible, right? Telepathy was definitely a real thing but she’d never experienced it herself, never been capable of it before, and nothing that she’d just read had indicated that -

…  _ Goten? _ she gently called out in her mind, focusing on Goten’s own wildly fluctuating ki and, as crazy as it sounded, trying to talk to him in her mind. 

She didn’t expect him to answer, still thinking she was just losing it, but she was proven wrong yet again. 

…  _ Bulla? You can hear me? _ A pause, and then,  _ Holy shit, I can hear you, too.  _

—

Goten stared into space, sitting on the Lookout in a haze as Goku and Dende looked on in great concern. 

“Is he sick?” Goku asked the Namekian softly. 

“I don’t believe so, but his ki - it’s… strange,” Dende admitted, watching the younger Saiyan with a frown. “It’s erratic and… changing.”

“Changing?” Goku asked, turning to Dende in surprise. “Changing how?”

“I’m not sure, I’ve never felt anything like this,” Dende replied, looking up at Goku rather helplessly. “Has anything happened to him recently? A battle, illness, anything?”

Goku shook his head. “No, nothing, except…” He trailed off, brows furrowing as he recalled what he’d accidentally walked in on only the night before. Coupled with Goten’s pained whisper of Bulla’s name just before Goku had brought him here, he wondered what the hell could be going on between them that could lead to all of  _ this _ . 

_ Something _ was going on, that much was certain, and Goku was starting to get nervous about what it might be.

—

As Bulla stared at the wall of her lab, grappling with the idea that she and Goten apparently shared a fucking telepathic link now, she was wholly unprepared for the door bursting open and her brother of all people rushing through and yelling, “Bulla, are you okay?”

_ Shit shit shit _ . Bulla was currently curled up into a ball on the floor of her lab, her face tear-streaked and ki absolutely bonkers, and she was very clearly  _ not _ okay. She groaned as Trunks rushed to her side and knelt beside her, explaining, “I felt your ki go crazy and I got here as fast as I could. What happened? Were you attacked? Are you hurt? Are you -“

“I’m fine, Trunks,” she muttered hoarsely, swatting at his hands as they hovered over her. “I just… had a panic attack, that’s all.”

His brows furrowed. “A panic attack? Since when do you have those?”

_ Since I read what I read about ten minutes ago,  _ she wanted to answer, but instead she shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t mean to freak you out - I really am fine.”

_ Bulla, what’s going on? _ came Goten’s voice in her head, and  _ oh man  _ she hated this already. 

_ Shut up, I’m talking to my brother.  _

“You don’t look fine,” Trunks pointed out. “Come on, let me help you up. Let’s get you some water and fresh air, that might help.”

Bulla grumbled but allowed Trunks to pull her to her feet. She quickly darted to her station to shut down the main computer, not wanting to leave up any evidence of what had brought on her meltdown, and then she turned to follow Trunks out of her lab. 

“I really am fine. I think I’ve just been working too much,” she lied smoothly, not hearing Trunks’ reply because she was too busy talking to Goten where nobody else could hear them. 

_ We need to talk later. I know what’s happening to us. _

—

Goten swallowed hard. “Dende?”

Dende stepped forward. “Yes, Goten?”

“... Would you happen to know what it means when you wake up one day and suddenly you can feel someone else’s emotions, and you can also speak telepathically to them out of nowhere?”

“I’m afraid I don’t,” Dende replied. “Is that what’s been happening to you?”

Goten nodded, running a shaky hand through his hair. Bulla was calming down now, so Goten was as well but it was all still no less unnerving. He had been completely helpless to stop the onslaught of her panic and distress crashing directly into him, and then finding out in the middle of the debacle that they could apparently talk through their minds alone had just added another layer of  _ what the fuck. _

But now Bulla claimed to know what was happening between them, and it wasn’t as much of a relief as Goten thought it would be, considering that whatever she’d found out had likely been the catalyst for her meltdown. 

“Here, son,” Goku said quietly, handing Goten a glass of water. Goten took it and drank it gratefully, taking a minute to center himself before getting back up to his feet. Goku patted his shoulder and smiled, “You sure gave us a scare back there.”

“Sorry,” Goten muttered, rubbing at the back of his head. “I’m feeling better now. You should probably take me back now before Mom loses her mind.”

Goku hesitated. “If I take you back home now, her and Gohan will just press you for answers. How about I take you back to your apartment and you can rest there and I’ll cover for you? Tell them you just aren’t feeling well and need some downtime.”

Goten gave his father a surprised smile. Goku could be wonderfully perceptive when he wanted to be. “Okay, yeah. Good idea. Thanks, Dad.”

Goku then turned to Dende and thanked him for his help, though the Guardian hadn’t been able to do much, and he placed his hand on Goten’s shoulder and teleported them to Goten’s apartment. 

Once they arrived, Goku took his hand away and said, “You know, Goten, whatever’s going on with you and Bulla… it probably won’t be long until Vegeta figures it out. Not much gets past him.”

The knot in Goten’s stomach tightening, he nodded and sighed. “I know.”

“He’s on Beerus’ world right now, though, so hopefully that buys you some time. Just… let me know if there’s anything I can do, okay?”

Goten smiled and nodded, and Goku vanished before his eyes. Once he was gone, Goten let out a deep breath and flopped on to his couch, draping an arm over his eyes and groaning miserably. 

_ Bulla _ , he called out into his mind, beyond weirded out by this new link between them but figuring he might as well use it,  _ I’m at my place _ .  _ Can you come over tonight so we can talk? _

Only a few seconds passed before her soft, sweet voice rang out for only him to hear.  _ Be there soon. _

—

The night before, Goten had been nervously puttering about his apartment in anticipation of Bulla coming over for dinner. Tonight, he was pacing his living room floor awaiting her arrival while plunged deeply in a whole other level of anxiety. 

He could feel her coming, her energy like a burning star in the sky as it grew ever closer. She was a giant ball of nerves too, he could tell, and as he waited, his brain conjured up a worst-case scenario and fixated on it. 

What if… what if she was pregnant, and that was why their energies were so oddly mingled and out of whack? What if Saiyan pregnancies caused such strange developments? If so, their connection would become the least of his problems. He could hardly fathom something worse than knocking up the teenage daughter of Vegeta - he’d be dead before he could breathe a single word in his defense. 

But Bulla was on birth control, so the chances of that were low, right? Not that he’d helped matters by never using condoms with her, not even once. He groaned at his own stupidity and began pacing harder, berating himself for being so careless. He’d never been careless, not when it came to that. He’d slept with countless women and had never caused an unintentional pregnancy, had always been  _ religious _ about condoms, and yet - 

A soft knock sounded at the door. Goten flashed to it and yanked the door open, unthinkingly blurting as soon as he laid eyes on Bulla, “Are you pregnant?!”

Her eyes widened in shock before narrowing. “What? No!  _ Pregnant _ ? I told you you didn’t have to worry about - let me in, I’m not talking about this out here.”

“Sorry,” Goten mumbled, embarrassed. Bulla walked in and he shut the door behind her, taking a shaky breath as he faced her. “Are you okay? Earlier I thought you might have been in danger, or…”

She wrapped her arms around herself, nodding. “I’m fine. Sorry. Um,” she glanced around, clearly at great unease, “we should sit down.”

Goten led her to the couch, and after they sat down, he looked at her and wondered if either of them had ever felt quite as awkward as they did right then. Bulla sat with her fingers fidgeting in her lap, staring down at them before drawing in a breath and muttering, “Okay. I guess I’ll just… get to the point.”

Her ki was a wreck, and Goten could nearly  _ taste _ her fear. “Okay.”

“I found Gohan’s research,” she began, “and it turns out it explained everything.”

Goten swallowed hard. “What did it say?”

She shifted in her seat, her nerves radiating off her in waves. Goten reached out and took her hand, his instincts screaming at him to comfort her, and her ki  _ did _ somewhat stabilize at his touch. 

“So… Saiyans… weren’t really the types to mate for life, at least in most cases,” she said. “But when they did, they were always drawn together by scent first. It… basically described what happened with us, word for word. One day everything would change and they’d smell so good, they wouldn’t be able to think of anyone else or stay away.” She took another shaky breath. “Um… so… that would be the beginning of the… mating process.”

Goten shivered.  _ Mating process.  _

“As the pair got closer, their connection would grow, become deeper,” she went on. “They’d be able to sense each other no matter how far apart they were. They would… be able to feel each other’s emotions, know when the other needed help or… comfort.” She swallowed. “And um… if they decided to be mated together - and they usually did, because it was almost impossible to resist - they’d seal the bond with a…”

Goten’s eyes flickered to Bulla’s neck, somehow knowing what she was about to say. “A  _ bite _ .”

She nodded. “Yeah. And there’s no undoing it. It’s permanent.”

A permanent mating bond. Between the youngest son of Goku and the only daughter of Vegeta. A 32 year old man and a 19 year old girl, bound together for life due to a Saiyan ritual they’d had no idea they were participating in. 

Goten’s throat went dry. This was… unimaginably bad. 

“... You’re sure?” he asked quietly. 

“Yeah. The information came from Gohan’s interviews with my dad. He mostly learned about Saiyan culture over the years from his mentor, someone named Nappa. Their planet was gone but he taught my dad everything he knew.” She paused. “My dad’s parents were a mated pair. And your dad’s parents were, too. My dad didn’t remember their names but his squadmate, Raditz - your uncle - said they were mated in the same way. In Gohan’s notes, he had a theory that the mating bonds were the result of some kind of a genetic mutation, since most Saiyans never experienced it.”

Goten’s head was spinning. “But… if that was true and it’s in both of our families, why the fuck did nobody ever tell us about this?”

Bulla shrugged. “I assume they thought since we’re only half Saiyan we wouldn’t have to worry. I mean, we weren’t even born with tails. I don’t know.”

Having been holding on to Bulla’s hand this whole time, Goten gently pulled away and got to his feet. His legs felt like jelly and his heart was pounding as he walked aimlessly, dragging his hands through his hair as he came to a stop at his living room window. He stared out of it unseeingly, a long few minutes of silence falling over them before he mumbled out a horrified, “Oh, God.”

An unintentional pregnancy would have been better. At least then, they would have had options. But this… this was apparently already a done deal. Like waking up hungover and married but without the option of divorce, and with a bunch of crazy side effects to boot. 

Bulla approached him quietly from behind, her voice soft and free of the usual fire he enjoyed from her. “I know you don’t want this. I don’t either. But I don’t know what to do.”

“There’s no way to break the bond?”

“Just death,” she whispered. “So no.”

He turned to face her, his heart aching as he watched a tear fall down her cheek. He closed the distance between them and wiped the tear away, wondering how much of what he felt for her was real and how much of it was the bond. Or was there even a difference? If it truly was a rare and treasured thing in the Saiyan race, then that meant that it was… good, right? Like soulmates, in a sense. 

But Bulla’s face crumpled as she leaned into his hand, and it was impossible for him to believe that  _ any _ of this was good. He pulled her close, closing his eyes and feeling his own tears well up in his eyes as their emotions mingled between them. 

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled into his chest. “This is all my fault. If I’d just left you alone…”

“No, Princess, don’t you dare,” he told her softly, pulling away to look her in the eye. “This is  _ not _ your fault. Everything that’s happened, everything that led us here… it was both of us. And I… I should have been the one to put an end to it.” His eyes fell to her bite mark, uncovered and unconcealed, and he muttered, “And I’m the one that bit you.”

“Goten,” she whispered, an urgency to her tone that took him by surprise, “can you… can you kiss me there? It… I can’t explain it, but it makes me feel better when you do and I just… I feel like I’m losing my mind.”

He obeyed without a second thought, leaning down and pressing his face into her neck and breathing deeply. Relief and tranquility washed over them both in an instant as her scent seemingly penetrated his very soul, and his arms tightened around her as he groaned and relaxed in her embrace. He dragged his lips over the mark and she slid her fingers into his hair, leaning her head to the side to give him better access, and the guilt and fear that Goten had been wallowing in all but vanished. 

_ Mine _ , his instincts celebrated from somewhere deep inside of him.  _ My Bulla. _

_ My Goten _ , came Bulla’s voice flitting through his mind, and Goten’s eyes popped open as he realized she’d heard his thoughts… and had responded in kind. He raised his head and met her gaze, murmuring, “Bulla…”

She kissed him then, her lips soft and sweet against his, and nothing had ever felt so natural and so right before. He cradled her head and deepened the kiss, the strange bond between them singing with joy and their very blood dancing together as they gave in to the millennia-old tradition that had drawn them together without their knowledge. 

Was it a gift or a curse, Goten wondered as he pulled away from her lips to stare at her beautiful, perfect face. Deep blue eyes, high cheekbones, cherry-red lips, a mind sharper than the deadliest blade… the young woman that had effortlessly shattered through all of his defenses and left him reeling at every turn. 

She was brighter than sunshine, more tempting than any other creature alive, and now she belonged to him. He’d snatched her from her father without even knowing he was doing it, sinking his teeth into her delicate flesh that night in her room because it felt good and  _ right _ , completely ignorant as to the consequences. And yet, as he gazed into her eyes and imagined countless ways that this accidental bond could result in either his death or the loss of everything in his life that was important to him… he couldn’t find it in him to regret a damn thing. 

“Goten,” she whispered, closing her eyes and swaying closer to him, “please… I need you.”

What else could Goten do but give in, and do any and everything in his power to take care of and please his mate?

  
  



	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bulla & Goten spend the night together for the first time, but the following morning isn’t so kind to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SKSKSKKS GUYS!!! The most AMAZING thing happened yesterday!! pandacapuccino on tumblr posted [ this absolutely stunning, beautiful, amazing piece of art](https://pandacapuccino.tumblr.com/post/623650523692843008/something-i-finished-yesterday-for-a-braten-fic) inspired by this very fic, and I cannot even express how much I love it and how excited I am 😱😱 it’s now my phone background and I just keep staring at it and falling in even more in love, so please go give it a look and follow the artist too because their work is amazing!! I’m so happy like I can’t even say 😭😭😭
> 
> Also, oh man I’m loving you guys and your comments!! Thank you so much, each and every one of you! I’m gonna be honest, I initially planned for this fic to go one way but while cleaning my house last night I had a sudden breakthrough and now I’ve got a new plan 😅 it’ll make the fic a bit longer than I planned at first but eh, what else is new 😂 I think it’s gonna be good, fingers crossed 🤞🏻I’ll see you guys soon, hope you like this ch!! 💜

_ “Goten, please… I need you.” _

Goten’s lips crashed down to Bulla’s, and she shivered as her world shifted back into something she recognized. The fear that had gripped her heart like a vice all day long was finally gone at last, and she felt like herself again. Safe, like nothing could hurt her so long as she was in the arms of her mate. 

_ Her mate. _ She didn’t think she’d ever quite believe it. 

His lips left hers to trail to her neck, pressing gently to his permanent mark upon her before his tongue licked up the length of it. She gasped softly and held his head close, wanting and  _ needing _ more, and he knew it without her having to verbalize it. His mouth left her neck and he picked her up, her legs wrapping around his waist and her arms winding around his neck, and he kissed her long and deeply as he walked them towards his bedroom. They only broke apart when he knelt down on the bed and gently laid her upon it, Goten staring down at her with a sort of reverence in his eyes that she’d never seen before. 

She laid there under him, fully clothed with her long aqua hair spread out all around her, and Goten gently traced her lower lip with his thumb before trailing his fingers down. He then proceeded to undress her slowly, far more slowly and carefully than he ever had before, and he kissed each inch of skin that he gradually bared. It was such a brand new, exhilarating experience, and Bulla found herself panting and desperate for more by the time that she was fully naked. 

She then watched with great anticipation as Goten stood up and quickly shucked off his clothes, reaching for him once he was bare and kneeling back on to the bed. But before their lips could meet again, Goten asked, “When do you need to be home?”

“Not until tomorrow,” Bulla grinned. “You’ve got me all night.”

Goten let out a very pleased, deep growl before kissing her hungrily, and as his beautiful, larger body began to slide against hers, Bulla relished each delicious sensation and shuddered as her mind began to chant  _ mine, mine, my Goten. My mate _ . 

She didn’t realize that he could hear those thoughts until he gasped into her mouth and answered her through his own mind, his voice like honey as he replied,  _ My mate. My Bulla.  _

They broke their kiss to stare at each other, both of them finding their instincts so much stronger and clearer now that they were aware of them and why they existed. But it was a bittersweet thing for Bulla. 

As joyful as she was on those primal, distinctly Saiyan levels, another side of her almost hated all of it. It was hard for her to ignore the stupid, insecure voice in her mind that told her the only reason why Goten had bothered with her in the first place was the damn bond. None of it had been real, none of it had been of his own will, not really. Had her blood and her scent never called out to his, he never would have looked at her as anything but his best friend’s little sister. 

Goten sensed the sudden drop in her emotional state, cupping her cheek and asking softly, “What is it, baby?”

She didn’t have it in her to try to hide her thoughts or feelings. Everything was too raw, too amplified, too open. “Would you… have ever chosen me, Goten? On purpose?”

His brows furrowed at the question, his fingertips idly brushing her bangs from her eyes. “Bulla, that’s -“

“If my dad and my brother weren’t a problem,” she quickly clarified. “If none of that was a factor and it was just us, would you choose me?”

He paused, leaning one arm next to her head. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and sighed as he nuzzled his way to her neck, where he inhaled against her mark deeply before raising his head back up. “Let me tell you something, Bulla. That night at the bar, when I first saw you… yes, your scent was  _ overwhelming _ and it was the first thing I noticed, but… it’s not like it was the only thing that drew me to you. And it’s not like this bite is what’s made me keep coming back to you.”

She gazed up at him hopefully, and he played with a long strand of hair between his fingers as he went on. “I saw you - the real you - for the first time that night. You weren’t a little girl anymore. You were… an incredibly beautiful young woman, and I was… fucked. When you were drunk and you came on to me,” he exhaled deeply, closing his eyes at the memory, “it took everything in me to not push you down on this bed and fuck you so hard it would ruin you for all other men, forever.”

Her eyes widened and her cheeks blushed brightly. “You… really?”

Another kiss to her lips, and then he nodded. “Really, Princess. Trust me… I can’t blame all of this on the fucking bond. It would be a convenient excuse, but I’d be full of shit.” He ran a palm down her chest, over her breast and to her belly, his eyes running up and down her body before locking back to her own. “Took me a long time to admit it, but I want you, Bulla. I’ve wanted you from the second I walked into that bar and saw the most beautiful girl in the galaxy sitting there looking for trouble.”

She smiled, his words assuaging her fears even if he didn’t truly answer her question. “I think I found it.”

He grinned back. “We both did.” Then they were kissing again, and Bulla felt far lighter than she had before. Her anxieties conquered for the time being, she easily rolled them over and got on top of her mate, smiling into the kiss when he groaned in approval of the change. 

She broke the kiss and sat up straight, tossing her hair back and giving him a tantalizing view of herself. He drank her in and ran his hands up her thighs and over her hips, not stopping until his hands cupped both of her breasts and squeezed gently. She leaned into his touch, grinding her ass teasingly against his  _ very _ hard cock and getting exactly the kind of breathless groan she’d wanted from him. Wanting to work him up even more, she took one of his hands and brought it to her lips, making a show of sucking two of his fingers into her mouth and moaning as if she just  _ needed _ a part of him to wrap her mouth around. She kept her eyes closed at first but soon opened them and nearly grinned at the dark, hungry look on his pretty face. 

Then she released his fingers with a  _ pop _ , and Goten growled lightly before making a come hither motion with his other hand. She quirked a brow at him, unsure of what he was asking for, but it all clicked into place when he flashed her a smirk and crooked his finger again, murmuring, “Come here, Princess. Come sit on your throne.”

Her breath hitched.  _ Oh _ . He meant - 

“Don’t be shy,” he coaxed, grabbing her hips to tug her upwards. “Bring that pretty little pussy up here for me.”

Her face going bright red, she squeaked at his words but did as he said, climbing up his body and, despite the butterflies in her belly, not stopping until she was straddling his face. It was a vulnerable position for anyone, but Goten soothed her nerves away by rubbing her hips with his hands and kissing on her inner thighs as he told her telepathically,  _ It’s okay, baby. You look so beautiful like this, you’ve got nothing to be nervous about.  _

She smiled down at him, biting her lip at his little trick. Now even when his mouth was occupied, he’d be able to speak to her. Maybe the bond had its perks after all. 

Her hands braced on his headboard and knees pressed into the mattress, Bulla took a shaky breath and then moaned softly at the first gentle kiss of his lips. Next came a long, hot lick of his tongue, and she stopped breathing entirely. 

_ You taste so good, Princess. I can’t get enough _ . 

“Oh fuck,” she shuddered as she looked down, his eyes closed and expression quite blissful as he drowned in her. “That’s so weird.” He chuckled hotly against her, and she let out a giggle that became another moan. 

_ It is but I kinda like it,  _ he told her next, opening his eyes to meet her gaze.  _ Now I can eat you out and tell you how fuckin’ perfect you are at the same time.  _

She whimpered and began to rock gently against his face, dropping her head back and sighing happily. He was so  _ so _ good at this, and as enthusiastic as he was skilled, and she never managed to last long when at the mercy of his mouth. She didn’t think this time would prove any different. 

_ You get so wet so fast, _ he marveled, lapping up her sweetness before refocusing on her clit and wrapping his lips around it, making her gasp and grind harder on him.  _ And make the prettiest noises. Ride my face harder, Princess, I know you want to. _

She did as he said, feeling herself getting closer and closer to the edge and rocking faster, one hand shooting down to tangle in his hair. “ _ Goten _ ...”

_I know baby_ , his deep, sweet voice whispered directly into her mind, making goosebumps erupt all over her. _You’re so close, I can feel it._ _Come on,_ he sucked harder, fingertips digging deliciously hard into her thighs, _fall apart for me, Bulla._

Her hand clenched into a fist in his hair and she cried his name as she came on his tongue, his hands keeping her body steady as it shook and trembled like an earthquake. He didn’t stop until it became too much, Bulla pushing off of him as she shivered from oversensitivity, but she didn’t get far. He quickly had her wrapped up in his arms and was kissing her softly but passionately as she continued to recover, turning them on their sides facing one another as she caught her breath. 

She smiled as she opened her eyes and reached up to trace his jawline, a faint blush touching her cheeks as she thought of which parts of her had been touching that handsome face just a moment before. Even after all this time and how far they’d gone - and the soul-deep bond they’d accidentally created between them - sometimes it was still hard for her to believe that this was all real and that she was lying naked in  _ Goten’s _ bed, tucked into his arms and watching him gaze at her with nothing short of a burning lust in his eyes. 

He took her hand and pressed a gentle kiss to her innermost wrist, and she smiled in turn. “How are you so good at that?”

“Practice,” he replied honestly, his lips curving upwards. “But you usually don’t like it when I talk about my experience, so…”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, it’s unfair. You’ve been with so many women and I’ve only been with you. Kind of intimidating, you know?”

“But that’s part of the draw, isn’t it?” he purred, taking her hand and guiding it down between them. He placed her hand on his cock and curled her fingers around it, adding, “Like you said back at the bar… you wanted an older man who knew his way around a woman’s body. Someone who’d teach you,” he started moving her hand up and down, and her eyes were transfixed upon him, “and show you how to feel good… and how to give pleasure, too.”

She certainly hadn’t said  _ all that _ , but she wasn’t complaining. She bit her lip, finding the act of him using her hand to touch himself and show her how he liked it incredibly hot. After a moment he let go, and she didn’t stop. “Yeah… you’re a pretty good teacher so far.” She paused and asked curiously, “How many women  _ have _ you slept with?”

He chuckled, hissing as she rubbed her thumb over his tip, knowing he liked that. “More than I can count. I’ve slept with a  _ lot _ of people, Bulla.”

She quirked a brow. “Not just women?”

He eyed her and shook his head. “Not just women.”

_ Huh _ , she thought. Definitely not an issue, but she just hadn’t expected it. Then she froze, her hand falling still on his dick as she blurted, “Wait - you’ve never slept with my brother, have you?”

He sputtered and turned bright red as he blurted back, “Fuck, no! Oh God,” he laughed as she deflated in relief, “no. He’s so straight, he won’t even kiss me when he’s drunk.”

Her eyes bulged. “You’ve  _ tried _ to kiss him?”

“I - well, yeah, a long time ago, like when we were teenagers,” he shrugged, going even redder now. “Just, you know, to fuck around. But like I said, nothing ever happened.”

She let out a long exhale, glad that the things that her and Trunks had in common didn’t go  _ that _ far. “Okay, good, because… yeah, that would just be weird.” 

He chuckled and cupped her cheek. “You’re adorable, you know that?”

She raised a brow and started stroking him again, making sure to use the pressure he liked. “You sure that’s the right word?”

He groaned at her touch and nodded, brushing his lips against hers. “Adorable, beautiful, sexy… powerful… brilliant… take your pick.”

“Sweet talker,” she grinned just before he gently pushed her hand away and pulled her forward for a deep kiss. Then he made her squeal out a giggle as he flipped her to her other side and pulled her against him, her back to his chest. 

He pressed his nose to her mark and groaned as he took in the scent, and Bulla shuddered at the effects it had on her. Along with every trace of tension in her body evaporating, a fresh wave of arousal wracked through her and she melted against him, rocking back against the hardness pressing against her ass. She mewled his name and raked her fingers through his hair, and he nipped and licked at her mark before moving to her ear and groaning, “Tell me what you want, Princess.”

“You know what I want,” she sighed, grinding back on him harder for emphasis. 

“Maybe I wanna hear it,” he teased, teeth gently biting at her earlobe while one hand cupped her breast. Tugging her nipple between two fingers, he added, “I like it when my little Princess talks dirty.”

She lightly growled in frustration but gave in, turning her head towards his and murmuring against his parted lips, “I want you to fuck me with that big perfect cock, Goten.”

He shuddered against her. “God you’re so fucking hot,” he whispered before kissing her hard and sloppy, tongue tangling desperately with hers as he lifted her leg and then plunging inside of her. She had no time to feel self conscious about what she’d said or second guess it, feeling far too good with him inside her at last and besides, his reaction had made it all worth it. 

Their problems felt light years away as they laid there together, rocking slowly in sync with each other and sharing needy kisses, hands roaming every inch of skin they could reach. Bulla liked the position for how close it brought them and how easy it was for Goten to bury his face against her mark, something that seemed to bring them both great pleasure and comfort. It was like taking a hit of a drug together every time he touched her there or simply breathed her in, and to call it intoxicating was a grave understatement. 

It almost felt like breathing for the first time, as if she’d been deprived of some essential ingredient to  _ life _ until now. It felt so right -  _ he _ felt so right - and she loved him so much she thought her heart might explode. 

But she didn’t dare say a word, instead keeping her voice and her thoughts quiet as they moved together. His thrusts were getting longer and deeper, but he was taking her far more gently than he ever had before. It was no less satisfying than their rougher couplings, maybe even better in some ways, she thought as he held her close and gradually increased the pace until they were both panting and inching closer to their ends. 

Goten surprised her by taking her hand and intertwining their fingers, their joined hands pressed to her belly as he whispered in her ear, “M’not gonna last much longer, you feel too good.”

Bulla squeezed his hand, not trusting her voice and using her mind instead to reply,  _ Just a little more, don’t stop _ …

He growled and gently sunk his teeth into her mark, and it sent a shockwave of sensation through both of their bodies that neither of them expected. Bulla gasped and Goten moaned lowly, hips snapping faster against hers as his mental voice replied,  _ Now, baby, you gotta come now. _

_ Fill me up, _ she cried out into his mind, her voice too busy crying out as she came hard and squeezed deliciously around him.  _ I want it all, give it to me, Goten _ ...

His reaction was delicious. He cursed into her neck and pumped her full just as she’d requested, his pleasure so great as he came that for a short but exquisite moment, it crossed through their link and became hers. Her eyes flew open as her waning orgasm suddenly picked up and began anew, hitting her so hard she nearly screamed. It was strange and amazing and beautiful and she was thoroughly worn out by the time it was over, left panting hard and exhausted by the time the last wave left them both. 

“Holy shit,” she mumbled against the pillow beneath her face, suddenly feeling like she could sleep for a whole week. Goten groaned his agreement behind her, absently pressing kisses along her shoulder, and she might have fallen asleep right then had Goten not reluctantly pulled himself up after only a few moments. 

He was back soon with a warm, wet towel, and Bulla barely opened her eyes as she rolled to her back and let him clean her up. She didn’t think she’d ever felt so satisfied or so content, and when Goten was done and climbing back into bed with her, she gave him a lazy smile and happily snuggled up to his side, laying her head on his chest as he held her close. 

This was just… perfect. 

“Yeah, it is,” Goten agreed, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, and Bulla flushed as she realized she was gonna have to learn to control her thoughts better, learn to keep them from broadcasting to him. 

But that was a worry for tomorrow, along with every other complicating factor. She closed her eyes and found herself lulled to sleep within seconds, enveloped in Goten’s warmth and surrounded by his scent, feeling as if she was finally where she had always belonged. 

—

The next morning, Goten awoke to aqua hair tickling at his nose and Bulla’s intoxicating scent warming his very soul. A lazy smile unfolded on his lips before his brain caught up with him, and when it did, his smile faded. 

He opened his eyes and gazed upon the princess lying in his bed and in his arms, his best friend’s baby sister, his  _ mate _ , and all at once he felt a joy so deep and a horror so terrible it left him breathless. 

The Saiyan half of Goten could not have been more pleased, but his human half was as torn and guilty as ever - exponentially more so, in fact, now that the truth of their accidental lifelong bond had been discovered. 

Trunks would never forgive him. Vegeta would kill him if Trunks didn’t. He had taken what he had no right to, thoughtlessly and carelessly claiming Bulla for life and plunging her into a bond that neither of them had known a damn thing about. 

He felt like the lowest of the low. He had always placed such a heavy emphasis on consent and making sure he never took advantage of anyone, never wanting to blur any lines or do anything without the most enthusiastic consent from his partners, and yet he’d managed to irrevocably bind a teenage girl to himself for life with a single bite of his teeth, changing the trajectory of both of their lives forever. 

He stared at his beautiful, peacefully sleeping mate, his heart sinking in his chest. He knew she had some kind of feelings for him, knew now that she’d been infatuated with him for years, but  _ Kami _ she was only 19. Her life was just beginning, her potential absolutely limitless as both a warrior and a genius, and to tie her to himself forever without her knowledge or consent, to take that decision from her… it didn’t matter that he was equally ignorant at the time. It was wrong,  _ so _ wrong, and it made him nauseous to even think about. 

And the fact that his Saiyan instincts were so happy about it, and that the bond felt so right and so beautiful… he felt like a soulless monster. How could he be pleased with himself on any level when he had taken something so precious and crucial to someone he’d cared deeply for ever since the day she was born? 

Afraid he was going to be sick, he carefully rolled away from Bulla and eased himself out of bed without disturbing her. He took refuge in the bathroom, leaning over the sink and splashing cold water in his face as he tried to calm the storm starting to swirl inside, but deep down he knew it was pointless. He could distract himself by sleeping with Bulla and inhaling her bizarrely calming scent all he wanted, but at the end of the day he’d never be able to escape the truth. And he’d never be able to escape the wrath of her brother and father when they inevitably found out. 

He groaned and turned, leaning back against the sink and slowly sinking down to the floor. He drew up his knees and leaned his elbows on them, dropping his head into his hands as his eyes burned with tears of sheer hopelessness. 

If only he could take it back. If only there was some way to undo it, some way to just… erase the entire bond without a trace, before anyone had to find out and before Bulla could come to resent Goten for what he’d taken from her. 

Then he froze, his eyes popping open. He raised his head and blinked several times, a frankly obvious and unbelievably easy solution springing forth in his mind. 

He slumped his shoulders in relief. Maybe there was hope for both him and Bulla yet.

—

Bulla had noticed something was off as soon as she’d woken up and sensed Goten’s energy, but she had hoped that she was just imagining things and was still adjusting to the strangeness of the bond. Unfortunately, after donning Goten’s shirt from the night before and heading out to the kitchen where he was waiting for her with a freshly prepared breakfast, she quickly realized her instincts had been right. 

At first glance, all seemed well. He was oddly cheerful but also nervous, having cooked her a breakfast fit for a queen, and after she sat down at the table he brought her cup of hot coffee and asked how she slept. 

“I slept great,” she replied, watching him take a seat opposite her. “I was kind of bummed when I woke up alone, though.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” he replied sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I woke up early and I didn’t wanna disturb you, so…”

She sipped her coffee, eyeing him curiously and wondering what exactly was up with him. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but… “I mean… I wouldn’t have minded waking up early with you, if it meant still staying in bed for awhile.” She then shot him a grin so that he wouldn’t miss her meaning, and he smiled back and blushed faintly. 

“When do you need to head home?” Goten asked, and Bulla fought the urge to pout at the change in subject. 

“I told my mom I’d be home around noon,” she shrugged, digging into her food. Goten really  _ was _ an excellent cook. 

“Good,” Goten nodded, stuffing his own face. 

Bulla raised a brow, smirk returning. “Got plans for me before I go?”

Goten chuckled but shook his head, and Bulla’s stomach began to knot a bit. “Actually, I, uh… I wanted to talk to you about something. An idea I had.”

For some reason, that only made her feel more uneasy.  _ What was up with him? _ “Okay.”

He downed a few bites of food and another gulp of coffee before pausing for a moment, gathering his thoughts before he spoke again. “So, I, um… I was thinking, and… this bond between us. Maybe there’s a way it doesn’t have to be permanent after all.”

She suddenly clutched her fork so hard it was a wonder it remained intact. Her eyes narrowed and the unease in her gut became an anxious twisting, alarm bells ringing in her head. “How? The only way to break it is for one of us to die.”

“Right, but here’s the thing,” he smiled, though it didn’t touch his eyes. “We have dragon balls.”

Her blood turned to ice. 

“You… want to wish the bond away?” she asked, the mere thought of such a thing making her start to feel… panicked. Almost as panicked as when she’d discovered the truth of the bond itself just the day before. 

“Think about it,” Goten said, eyes bright and hopeful. “You could grab the radar from your house and we could make this go away within a day. Nobody would ever need to know. We wouldn’t be stuck like this forever.”

Her hand shaking, she set the fork down on the plate. Her appetite was long gone, and in its place was a quickly forming storm of too many emotions to process at one time, all of them rising from her inner Saiyan instincts. 

_ He doesn’t want you. He doesn’t want the bond. He hates it, he thinks it was a mistake. He would be happy to be rid of you. He doesn’t want you.  _

_ He doesn’t want you.  _

She couldn’t think rationally at that moment, couldn’t consider the logic behind Goten’s idea or how it might be anything other than a clear cut rejection of her and the beautiful, if accidental, bond that they’d formed. The primal, proud Saiyan royal within her was coming to life, and she was fucking  _ pissed _ . 

“I mean, I know you like me, Bulla, but you’re only 19,” Goten said softly. “You’re so young, and I just… I’d never forgive myself if down the road you ended up miserable because you were stuck with me. You weren’t even able to choose the bond or consent to it - it just happened, and it wouldn’t be fair to either of us to have to just live with it forever. You’re important to me, Bulla, and you deserve better than something that huge being forced on you.”

His words were little more than white noise at that point. All she heard was  _ I don’t want you as a mate. You’re too young, too foolish, all wrong for me, and I never would have chosen you on purpose. Everything I said last night to the contrary was a lie.  _

It felt like a knife to the heart. He had given her his mark, completed the bond, made love to her and called her  _ his _ \- how could he turn around and reject her like this and want to just throw her away?

How  _ dare _ he throw her away. 

“Bulla?” he asked innocently, obliviously. “What are you thinking?”

Hurt and rage swirling together within her, Bulla felt her self-control slipping. Her ki was rising, her power trembling within her, and she knew what would happen if she didn’t get out there  _ right now _ . She wanted to crush Goten the way that he was crushing her, but she couldn’t think of a way to do that besides lash out at him physically and that wasn’t an option - he didn’t stand a chance against her, and despite her anger, she didn’t want to accidentally kill him. 

So instead she stood up and squared her shoulders, eyes narrowed and fixed angrily upon his own. “Go fuck yourself, Goten.”

One ki blast to the nearest window later, she was flying away from his apartment and trying to choke down a sob trying its best to claw its way out of her throat. Her vision blurred as tears formed within her eyes and she was on the verge of giving in and letting herself cry when a hand on her shoulder stopped her mid-flight. 

“Bulla, what the hell?”

She whipped around and glared at Goten, who  _ of course _ had followed her, and she shot a ki blast at his face. He dodged it but was pushed back, and she growled, “Stay away from me.”

“Bulla come on, talk to me,” he pleaded, and Bulla hated that she could feel his confusion and hurt through their bond. But it was  _ nothing _ like what she herself was feeling. 

“You wanna get rid of me, fine,” she spat. “Get the dragon balls and wish it all away and go live your life pretending none of this ever happened, you fucking coward.”

His eyes bulged. “It’s not like that! Didn’t you hear a word I said? You didn’t choose this, this was forced on us both and -“

Her ki spiking, her hair stood on end and flashed golden along with her aura, sparks of lightning all around her, and she screamed back at him, “I  _ would have _ chosen it, idiot!” 

Goten stared at her, jaw dropping in shock at her admission, and Bulla immediately panicked. She’d said too much.  _ Way _ too much. 

“Bulla…”

Before he could say another word, she brought both hands to her left side and curled her fingers. Goten caught sight of the charging attack one second too late, and she let out a frustrated yell as she unleashed a Galick Gun upon him and sent him crashing down to the ground. 

Knowing he’d get up and walk it off just fine, Bulla turned in the air and blasted off towards home. And when she heard Goten’s voice in her mind just seconds later, she squeezed her eyes shut and growled while mentally screaming at him to leave her alone. He did not, however, so she focused all of her energy on that strange link between them and envisioned it closing off, a steel wall taking shape between them, and to her shock it actually worked. Her mind went quiet, and she couldn’t even feel his energy anymore. 

When she arrived back at Capsule Corp, she landed on her balcony and let herself into her room. She didn’t even make it to her bed before the tears finally came, and she found herself sinking to the floor and leaning against her dresser as she leaned her face into her hands and cried her blue eyes out. 

She’d never felt more confused, or more hurt. Yesterday she’d been terrified of the bond and wanted it gone, so why was the idea of wishing it away more painful than anything she’d ever felt before? His words felt like the worst betrayal on so many strange levels, but on others - on  _ human _ ones - they made sense. He was right that a lifelong, permanent bond was something that shouldn’t be stumbled into blindly, especially for two people with as many complicating factors as them, and yet she felt like he’d sliced her heart in half by merely  _ suggesting _ using Shenron to fix it all. 

_ I must be going crazy, _ she thought to herself, crying harder than she had in years.  _ We’re both all over the place. Is this bond making us lose it? _

She desperately wanted to speak to her father. He’d know what to do - he always knew what to do, and he was the one person alive could truly shed light on what was happening between them. But she couldn’t, because as much as she wanted to slam Goten’s stupid face into an entire planet, Vegeta would lose his shit and Kami only knows what would happen then.

But she couldn’t keep this to herself any longer. Goten had Goku to talk to, and she had nobody. That needed to change. 

Following her heart, she got up from the floor and felt out a certain ki signature. Once she found it, she used the sleeves of her shirt - Goten’s shirt,  _ ugh _ \- to wipe the tears from her face, and then she left her room. 

Just a few minutes later, she let herself into her mother’s private lab and found her on the floor beneath some odd-shaped contraption she was building, hard at work and humming a tune. Bulla let the door shut behind her and cleared her throat. “Hey, Mom?”

Bulma paused her work and slid out partially, glancing up at her daughter and smiling. “Hey, Bulla! You’re back early.” Then she frowned and added, “Are you okay? Have you been crying?”

Bulla looked down at the floor, fiddling with her fingers and sniffing back more tears that wanted to fall. “I… Mom, I need to talk to you. Some stuff’s been going on and I haven’t had anyone to talk to about it, and I just… I don’t know what to do.”

Quickly abandoning her work, Bulma got up from the floor and dusted off her jumpsuit with her hands, quickly making her way to Bulla and pulling her into a hug. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. You can tell me anything, you know that, right?”

Bulla hugged her back tightly and nodded against her shoulder, already feeling a little bit better. A mother’s comfort really was unrivaled. “I know.”

Bulma pulled away and patted Bulla’s cheek, offering her a warm smile. “All right, honey. Let’s go make you some tea and get you feeling better, and then you can tell me everything.”

Bulla nodded, taking a deep breath. “Okay.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bulla confides in her mother, and a plan is set in motion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man I struggled with chapter too like the last one and I still don’t know if it turned out the way I wanted but we are pushing through anyway 😂 I hope you guys like it and hope you’ll all enjoy what I’m planning for the rest of the fic (which is still a very fluid thing so feel free to share any ideas or things you’d like to see! I’m all ears 😅). See ya soon! 💜

To say that Bulma was in shock was, quite literally, the understatement of the century. 

Her daughter was curled up on a corner of the couch, hugging her knees to her chest and crying in a way that Bulma hadn’t seen since she was a child. Her strong, sometimes cold hearted, somewhat aloof little Bulla was a broken hearted mess and it was all the fault of a man that Bulma had known and trusted ever since he’d been born over three decades ago. 

It was shocking enough to hear what Goten and Bulla had been doing in secret. But when Bulla told her about the mating bond they’d accidentally created between them…  _ that _ was when Bulma had nearly hit the floor. Coupled with the fact that now Goten wanted to wish away said bond and had crushed Bulla as a result, Bulma didn’t even know where to start. 

If Vegeta was there, Bulma could imagine what his response would be. He would have immediately apprehended Goten and dragged him to CC, beaten the tar out of him and then either killed him or forced him to honor the bond like a true Saiyan man and not take the coward’s way out, even if Vegeta hated him for it. It was a toss up, really - Vegeta’s intense protectiveness over his only daughter versus his reverence of Saiyan pride and traditions would be one hell of a chaotic inner battle. 

But Vegeta  _ wasn’t _ there, and Bulma wondered if it wasn’t for the best. 

“I’m sorry, Mom,” Bulla sniffled, peeking up at her. “I know you and Papa don’t keep secrets from each other, but I just… I had to talk to you before I went crazy.”

Bulma shook her head and placed a hand on Bulla’s shoulder. “Oh, honey, it’s okay. Don’t ever hesitate to come to me with  _ anything _ , okay?”

Bulla nodded, wiping her nose with her sleeve. She looked so young like that, so much like the little girl that Bulma had watched slowly blossom into the young woman she was today. It seemed like just yesterday she’d been learning to walk, taking her first steps and bringing a proud, rare smile to her Papa’s face. 

What simpler days those had been. 

“What do I do?” Bulla asked, looking to her mother for answers. 

Bulma took a breath and gave her a sympathetic look. “Well… I’m still absorbing all of this, but… you might not like what my thoughts are so far. I think Goten might have a point.”

Bulla groaned and looked away, glaring at the wall angrily and reminding Bulma very much of Vegeta in that moment. “I  _ know _ he has a point,” she grumbled, “but it’s almost like it doesn’t even matter. The idea of wishing this away, breaking the bond, it makes me - God, Mom, it makes me so angry I could almost kill him.”

“Sounds like your Saiyan side talking,” Bulma nodded. “It makes sense that you’d feel that way, and I’m willing to bet he’s got some complicated feelings, too. I mean, you’re basically soulmates, for lack of a better term, but… you both did rush into the bond without knowing anything about it. And that’s our faults,” Bulma sighed. “We should have prepared you kids better. Vegeta and Gohan both didn’t think it would affect you guys, that your blood was too diluted. But what’s done is done. The problem is, honey… Goten’s right to be worried.”

Bulla’s eyes narrowed at the random spot on the wall she was staring down. “He just doesn’t want me because he doesn’t wanna deal with Trunks and Papa eventually finding out.”

“I’m sure that’s a… significant factor,” Bulma cringed, not even wanting to imagine the fallout. “But try to put yourself in his shoes for a minute. You’re so much younger than him, and your life is just starting. You’ve never even had a serious boyfriend until now, and going from that to  _ mated for life _ to a man 13 years older than you - he’s right to worry that it might end badly, and that you might end up hating it or hating him. Even if you had been able to consciously choose the bond, you’re too young to be making a commitment that huge anyway.”

“It worked for Uncle Goku and Aunt Chi-Chi,” Bulla muttered, scowl intensifying. 

“They’re the exception, not the rule,” Bulma replied. “If I’d gotten married to  _ my _ boyfriend at your age - yeah, let’s not even go there.”

“So what,” Bulla shrugged, shifting her eyes to Bulma, “you think we should just get the dragon balls and make the bond go away and pretend like it never happened?”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” Bulma frowned. “From what I understand, you’ll always be drawn to each other. I don’t think anything will ever change that,  _ but… _ you could start over and make your own decisions. Do it the right way.” Bulma paused. “And not in secret.”

Bulla blinked. “You mean… break the bond so that we can just do it again down the road?”

“I don’t know,” Bulma confessed, lifting and dropping her arms in frustration. “Listen, right now I want to go hunt that boy down and skin him alive for what he’s done to you, but Kami knows that fighting Saiyan instincts is completely futile in the best of cases. If you and Goten are literally wired to be together then you’ll probably find your way to each other no matter what, but choice and consent  _ are _ incredibly important. And so is Trunks and your father.”

Bulla frowned and looked away again. “Why did it have to be  _ Goten _ .”

Bulma gave her a tight smile, reaching out and smoothing Bulla’s hair. The truth was, Bulla had always had a soft spot for Goten ever since she’d been born. It had always been cute back in those days, watching a pint sized Bulla trailing after her big brother’s buddy and pouting adorably at him until he’d give in and play with her, much to Trunks’ annoyance. But then as the years had gone on, Bulma had watched Bulla develop quite the crush on the older boy, but she’d seen it as entirely harmless. After all, with 13 years between them, how could it be anything but innocent? 

Bulma supposed that she had her answer now, and she didn’t much like it. 

“Maybe,” Bulla theorized, “it’s just because he’s the only male Saiyan around that I’m not related to.”

“Well, I don’t know,” Bulma pondered. “If that were the case, Trunks and Pan would be in the same boat as you two.” Then Bulma paused and went a bit pale. “Oh God, don’t tell me -“

Bulla rolled her eyes. “No, Mom. Pan has a girlfriend. It’s just me and Goten getting fucked over by our DNA.”

“Well, that’s a relief. Okay, well… I think you need to take some time and rest, and think all of this over,” Bulma told her gently. “I’m really sorry that you’re going through this, and that we didn’t prepare you like we should have. It’s not your faults that any of this happened - it’s ours.”

Bulla shrugged tiredly, sinking further into the couch. “I wish I didn’t love him. It would make it so easy if I didn’t.”

“Yeah,” Bulma sighed. “But that’s the thing about love - it’s never easy. I would know.”

Bulla managed a small smile as she looked at her mother. “You and Papa have always made it look easy, though.”

“That’s only because you came along later, after we’d figured everything out,” Bulma pointed out. “I mean, back in the beginning when your father first came to live here, it was because he had literally nowhere else to go and because he wanted to use our ships for gravity training. He was  _ such _ a giant raging dick back then, always stomping around and demanding we cater to him, eating all our food, breaking my equipment and then yelling at me to fix it immediately, threatening to blow me up if I didn’t… he was terrifying, but of course that only drew me to him more. He was this dark, sexy, dangerous  _ bad man  _ and oh, Kami, I just couldn’t get enough -“

“ _ Ugh _ , Mom!” Bulla clapped her hands over her ears and cringed, her face twisted up in disgust. “I do  _ not _ need to hear any of that.”

Bulma giggled. “Anyway, then I got pregnant with your brother, and it was still a few years before we had a half decent relationship - even longer before he was comfortable being affectionate with either of us even in private. Point is, honey, we went through a  _ lot _ to get to where we are today, and none of it was easy. Easy would have meant giving up a long time ago.”

Bulla furrowed her brows. “So… you’re telling me to fight for Goten?”

“Maybe. But mostly I’m telling you that good things take time and hard work. Sometimes rushing into things works out in the end, but not very often.”

Bulla sighed and leaned her head back against the couch, closing her eyes. “I wish I could talk to Papa about this.”

“You could - I still have that communicator that Whis gave me.”

Bulla quickly shook her head. “No, this is all hard enough to deal with without him trying to kill Goten. I just wish I could make sense of all these weird… instincts and emotions and stuff. It’s like I’m not even in control of my own mind anymore. But at the same time it feels… right.”

“Bulla,” Bulma said softly, reaching over and taking Bulla’s hand, “if you undo the bond, then you’ll be able to think clearly again. And you and Goten can deal with the connection between you then, with both of you a lot more stable and rational.”

Bulla was quiet for a long moment, chewing on her lower lip. Then she took a deep breath and, to Bulma’s surprise, said, “I think you’re right.”

“Really?”

Bulla nodded, the look of determination taking over her features once again making Bulma think of Vegeta. Though nearly identical to her mother, Bulla carried a  _ lot _ of her father within her. “Yeah. Goku knows about us, so can you give him the radar? Him and Goten can find the dragon balls - I’m not lifting a finger there.”

Now  _ that _ sounded like her daughter. “Okay. I can do that.”

Bulla then leaned over and gave her mother a warm hug. “Thank you for talking me through all of this.”

Bulma sighed and squeezed her back, closing her eyes. “Of  _ course _ , honey. Like I said - you can always come to me with anything, I promise.”

Bulla pulled away and offered her a weak smile. Bulma patted her on the cheek, and when Bulla got to her feet and headed back up the stairs a few moments later, Bulma took a moment to breathe and center herself as best as she could after all of  _ that _ . 

Then, once she was feeling reasonably in control of her famously sharp tongue, she pulled out her cell phone and rang up the Son house phone. When Chi-Chi answered, Bulma chirped, “Hi, Chi-Chi, how are you? I need you to put Goku on the phone and pray that he’ll still be in one piece by the time I’m done chewing him out.”

—

Goten had been in his shower zoning out in a state of Bulla-induced depression and anxiety when Goku popped into his apartment without warning and declared that they were going hunting for the dragon balls. After nearly having a heart attack at Goku’s sudden (and very loud) appearance, Goten had quickly gotten himself dried off and dressed and asked what the hell was going on. 

“Oh, well, you see, Bulma called and yelled at me for about ten minutes straight for knowing about you and Bulla and not telling her, and then she told me to come over and get the dragon radar so that me and you could find all the dragon balls and summon Shenron so that we can wish away some kind of weird mating bond you and Bulla created, I guess?”

Goten blinked, taking a moment to process his father’s run-on sentence. “Wait - Bulma knows about us?!”

“Guess so, sounds like Bulla told her today,” Goku nodded. “By the way, what’s a mating bond?”

Goten explained the basic concept of the bond after they took off about ten minutes later in search of the dragon balls. All the while Goten’s mind was racing with the implications of it all - Bulla having gone to her mother with the situation and, apparently as a result, giving her blessing to Goten’s wish idea after all. He desperately wanted to reach out and feel her, to use their connection to check on her and feel what she was feeling, but she had shut him out after their mid-air confrontation and even now, hours later, he still couldn’t feel a damn thing. 

It was horrible. He wanted to comfort her and look after her, apologize and take it all back and spend the rest of his days making her happy the way that she deserved, but he knew that was the bond and his inner Saiyan talking. It was so damn hard to distinguish what were his own thoughts and feelings and what was from the bond, and that was another reason why he wanted it gone. 

He hadn’t wanted to hurt Bulla, though he understood why she was angry at him. He was angry inside too, his instincts roaring at him louder and louder with each new dragon ball he and Goku picked up. But no matter how complicated his feelings were and how strange the situation was, rationally, he knew that wishing away the bond was the best call. Bulla would understand, in time. Maybe she already did, and that was why she’d given the green light to his plan. 

Or maybe she had decided that she didn’t want him anymore and that he wasn’t worth the trouble, bond or no. Never mind that he’d literally felt her feelings the night before and knew damn well how deeply they ran for him. 

The whole thing was just so incredibly  _ fucked _ . But at least with the help of Shenron, it could get a little less fucked. 

He and Goku found the final dragon ball on top of a snowcapped mountain, and once it was safe and secure with the six others, Goku reached out and offered a hand. “Ready to go back to Bulma’s house?”

Goten took a deep breath, shivering for reasons more than the frigid air around them. “Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”

Goku nodded, then grabbed Goten’s shoulder before pressing two fingertips to his forehead. 

—

Bulla reached out and crushed a training bot with her bare hand, a guttural roar filling the gravity room as she did so. As the now-warped and shattered metal fell to the floor, she froze and looked up as two unmistakable energy signatures made their presence known just outside the CC compound. 

“Gravity off,” she muttered, the 300g artificial gravity she’d been training at immediately dropping back down to normal and the lights regaining their usual brighter hue. She took a deep breath, enjoying the relief for an all too brief second before the dread of what was to come next eclipsed everything else. 

They’d found the dragon balls quick, she mused as she grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from her brow. Good to know Goten was in such a hurry to be rid of her. 

Once she’d dried off and sucked down a full bottle of water, she left the gravity room and made her way towards the ki signatures. Her mother’s was among them now, and she realized this really was it. The logical side of her brain was slightly relieved, but the rest of it that was addled by Saiyan chemistry was a whole fucking mess. 

She just wanted to feel normal again, like  _ herself _ . But at the same time, she felt a growing desire - no, a growing  _ need _ \- to wage war to save the bond and protect it all costs. 

She shook her head at her warring thoughts and, once she made it to the exit she’d been heading towards, pushed it open and stepped outside. The minute she came into view, Bulma and their two Saiyan guests all looked her way and fell silent from whatever conversation they’d been having. 

Bulma’s steely gaze softened, and Bulla assumed that she’d been scolding the two men. Good. Then she glanced at Goten, whose eyes were currently down somewhere near her feet and slowly rising up to slide over her body. It wasn’t hard to know why - she was only in a sports bra and small, tight spandex shorts. She stared him down until his eyes finally met hers, and when they did and he saw the anger in her blue eyes, he paled and looked away. 

_ Coward _ . 

“Hiya, Bulla!” Goku greeted happily with a wave, and Bulla cringed a little inside before giving him a nod and heading their way. She tried not to think about how she’d been naked and very exposed the last time he’d seen her, her shoulders squared and head high exactly the way her father had taught her to carry herself even in terrible, highly uncomfortable situations. 

“Let’s get this over with,” Bulla said, standing next to her mother and crossing her arms. Goten glanced up at her again only to dart his eyes back down when he found her still glaring at him. 

She wished that watching him squirm was half as satisfying as she’d thought it would be, but in reality it just hurt.  _ Everything _ hurt. 

Bulma placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You’re still sure about this?”

Bulla nodded. “Yeah.”

Bulma then leveled a much harsher look at Goten and asked, “And are  _ you _ still sure?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Goten nodded. While Bulla stood tall and proud, his shoulders were slumped and he had shame written all over him. 

“Well, all right then,” Goku shrugged. He untied a small sack from his waist and emptied all seven dragon balls on the grass before them. As he called forth the eternal dragon, Bulla stared at Goten and for the first time since their argument, she dropped the barrier she’d placed between them. 

_ You know this won’t change everything _ , she told him telepathically as the skies went dark. Goten eyes flew to hers in surprise.  _ We’ll still be drawn to each other. My scent will still drive you crazy.  _

_ I know, _ he replied.  _ But we won’t be locked into a permanent bond that neither of us consented to. _

She looked away and put her walls back up. If their bond only had a few minutes left, she didn’t want to spend it being vulnerable and allowing him to feel what she was feeling. 

As soon as Shenron took shape, Bulla’s stomach dropped and a thrill of panicked dread raced through her. She gritted her teeth and tried to shove the feeling down, willing her human side to overpower the Saiyan instincts currently melting down inside of her, but it was a rapidly losing battle. Almost immediately her ki became unstable, fluctuating wildly as the dragon’s voice boomed out and demanded to know their wishes, and Goku glanced back at her with concern etched in his features. She looked down and ignored him, crossing her arms more tightly. 

_ Keep it together, Bulla. This is almost over.  _

“Shenron,” Bulma spoke first, “can you undo a Saiyan mating bond?”

Another sudden spike of her ki, and Bulla’s hair flew up briefly before falling back down over her shoulders. She closed her eyes and tried to center herself, tried to calm down, but it was completely futile. 

_ He’s breaking the bond _ , her inner beast roared.  _ He’s throwing you away like a piece of trash. Don’t let him do it. You can stop this and you know it.  _

“I can,” Shenron confirmed. 

Bulma then looked to Goku, who looked to the two half-Saiyans in question. Goten nodded, looking pale and not so well himself, but Bulla was visibly struggling. 

“Bulla?” Goku asked. “You’re still in?”

_ No no no!  _

Bulla gave a single curt nod, and it took every last bit of willpower she had. Goku then nodded to Goten to make the wish, and Goten swallowed hard as he took a step closer to the dragon. 

“Shenron,” Goten began, “please undo the mating bond between myself and -“

Bulla snapped before Goten could finish his sentence. 

Her power exploded out of her in a blinding flash, Bulla shuddering and throwing her head back as a deafening roar tore out of her throat. All three pairs of eyes flew to her as she screamed in what sounded like almost agony, her aura shifting bright blue as she ascended and whipped the atmosphere into a frenzy all around them. Goku gasped in awe, Bulma shielded her eyes with her arms, and Goten stared at her with his jaw firmly on the ground. 

Her inner primal Saiyan had taken control, and it felt damn good. 

—

Bulla could go Super Saiyan Blue. The 19 year old princess that Goten hadn’t known could even go regular Super Saiyan just a few months ago was now standing before him in a dizzyingly beautiful display of power, full of god ki and far more power than he himself had ever generated in his entire life. She was a Saiyan goddess brought to life before his eyes, and deep inside of him, their bond  _ rejoiced _ . 

_ That’s my mate. My beautiful, powerful, perfect mate _ . 

The mate that he was about to sever himself from permanently. 

The mate that was currently turning her fierce blue eyes on him and  _ growling _ like she was ready to tear him limb from limb. 

“ _ How dare you?!” _ she screamed in a feral, terrifying voice as her power rippled all over her, all around her, enveloping her in a gorgeous and dangerous glow. “ _ I am the Princess of All Saiyans and you dare reject me?!” _

She then flew straight at him, and Goten didn’t have even the slightest fraction of a second to react, but his father did. Bulla flashed out of sight only to reappear inches from Goten’s face, Goku’s arms locked around her and holding her back as she snarled and growled like a rabid animal. 

“Bulla, stop!” Goku shouted, also ascended to Blue. “You’re not in your right mind, it’s the bond!”

“Get off of me!” she screamed, flailing in his arms, and Goten was frozen uselessly. 

“Make the damn wish!” Bulma screeched, breaking Goten out of his daze. “Make it before she kills you!”

His heart pounding and feeling like it was being torn in half, his own human side on the verge of being overpowered by his Saiyan side, Goten looked at Bulla again and watched as tears began to stream from her eyes as she struggled. 

None of this was right. None of this was supposed to happen this way. It was all wrong, and he had to make it right. 

“Shenron!” he shouted, choking out the words despite the toll the bond was taking on the both of them. “Undo the mating bond between myself and Bulla!”

Shenron’s eyes glowed bright red, and Goten’s knees hit the ground. Creating the bond had happened under his nose and without his knowledge, but breaking it felt like sharp claws had sunk into his very soul and ripped it apart in jagged tears. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t feel anything but pain. 

It was like death, but so,  _ so _ much worse. 

—

Bulla went limp in Goku’s arms the second it happened. All at once, the mindless rage and uncontrollable desire to protect the bond was gone, and in its place was the most breathtaking pain that Bulla had ever felt. 

It was gone. The bond was gone, ripped to shreds and burned to ash, and so was a piece of her soul. And it was  _ excruciating _ . 

Gently Goku set her on the ground, and Bulma rushed to her side as he went to tend to Goten. Bulla couldn’t hear her mother’s fussing, wasn’t aware of Shenron disappearing and the sky returning to normal, wasn’t aware of anything but the massive gaping hole in her chest. 

Except when she touched her chest, she found it untouched and uninjured. So why did it feel like she was dying and bleeding out right there on the grass? How could breaking the bond be this dramatic and this unbearable when creating it had been so easy and so natural? 

Deep down, she knew the answer. 

_ Because the bond was never meant to be broken. It was always meant to happen, always meant to come into existence, and breaking it was damn near blasphemy.  _

“Bulla?” she finally heard her mother say, her gentle hand on Bulla’s cheek and brushing through her hair soothingly. “Oh, honey… come on, talk to me.”

Eyes focusing on Bulma’s worried face, Bulla blinked a few times and muttered, “I’m fine.”

“No you’re not,” Bulma whispered before hugging her daughter close. “I’ve never seen you in so much pain.”

Bulla glanced at Goten over Bulma’s shoulder. He was down on the grass too, as dazed and hurt as she was and being fussed over by his own worried parent. Their eyes met, and the non-physical hole in her chest throbbed. 

“I’m fine, Mom,” she muttered, gently extricating herself from Bulma’s arms. She slowly but determinedly got to her feet, every ounce of strength in her body drained, but her pride gave her just enough energy to manage walking away. 

She heard Goten call after her, and she didn’t answer nor give him so much as a passing glance before disappearing inside the building. 

—

“Bulla - Bulla!” Goten called after her, only to have Bulma step in front of him and give him a look so withering and so devastatingly furious that it made him entirely freeze. 

“You stay the hell away from my daughter,” she seethed, “or so help me I will make you wish you were never born. And trust me, I don’t need Vegeta’s help to do that.”

She then turned and stomped away, and Goku let out a sigh as he placed a comforting hand on Goten’s back. “You okay, son?”

He swallowed hard and shook his head, looking down at his hands. They were shaking almost violently, and he felt like every ounce of energy in his body was completely gone. He felt… empty. Hollow, like a vital chunk of what made him  _ him _ had been torn away. 

He hadn’t expected any of this. He’d expected to just go back to the way things were before, not to feel like he’d just died a brutal death. And even though the bond was gone now, his desire to go and comfort Bulla and hold her and protect her hadn’t gone with it. It was alive and well, with an extra layer of guilt thrown on since this had been his idea and now she was feeling this pain and emptiness because of him. 

“Come on,” Goku said, gathering Goten up into his arms as if he were a child again. “Let’s get you home and into bed so you can rest. I don’t think your energy has ever felt this low before.”

“I need to talk to her, I need to…”

“I think she needs her space, Goten,” Goku told him softly before taking off into the sky. “I’m no expert on women, but even I know that.”

Goten opened his mouth to argue, but a wave of fatigue washed over him and he ended up falling asleep within seconds instead. Goku frowned down at him and then focused on flying them to Goten’s apartment, wishing in vain that he knew more about what was happening to his son so that he could help him. 

—

After the wish was made, Bulla retreated to her room and fell into a deep sleep before a single tear could fall. She slept for 12 hours straight, waking up around 4 am and feeling like she’d been hit by a train but overall less drained than before. She at least felt vaguely alive now, but she knew that she’d easily be able to sleep for another 12 hours. 

She dragged herself out of bed for a glass of water and a trip to the bathroom, changing into real pajamas when she returned to her room. She was yawning and fixing her slightly disheveled bedsheets when she heard a light tapping at her balcony and froze. 

She couldn’t feel his ki - not anymore, if he was masking it - but she knew it was him the instant she heard the noise. She walked to her balcony door and scowled at the dark figure lurking behind it, throwing the door open and muttering, “You’ve got a lot of nerve showing up here like this.”

“I know,” Goten groaned, looking every bit as bad as she felt, “but I had to see you.”

“Well, now you’ve seen me, so go away,” she replied, closing the door only for Goten to stop it with his hand. 

“Please, Bulla, don’t shut me out like this,” he pleaded, eyes bloodshot and tone desperate, but for some reason it only made her more angry to see him in such a low state. 

“Why not? Isn’t that what you wanted?” she scowled. 

“That’s not fair, Bulla, you agreed to the wish too,” he pointed out, pushing the door back open. She didn’t stop him. 

“But it was your idea,” she pointed out. “Why would I want to be mated to someone who’d go  _ that _ far to get rid of me and hide what happened between us?”

Goten’s eyes grew pained, and he reached out for her only to have his hand slapped away. “Fuck, it wasn’t like that and you know it. You know why I did what I did.”

“I know what you  _ said _ ,” she replied. “But I also know that you’re ashamed of me and how scared you were of anyone finding out. Would you really have worked so hard to get rid of the bond if I was your age and not related to Trunks?” When Goten didn’t answer, Bulla smiled bitterly. “See?”

“Bulla…”

She shook her head. “No. I deserve someone who doesn’t hate themselves for wanting me. I can do better than a coward like you.” She grabbed the door handle and began to swing it shut. “Stay away from me, Goten.”

And with that, she slammed the door in his face and shut him out of her life. She shut the curtains over the door and felt absolutely nothing as she turned and walked back to bed, climbing back in and shutting her eyes like nothing had happened. 

Her well was dry. Her heart had already been shattered 12 hours earlier, and there was nothing left to break. All that remained was a blessed numbness that felt far better than the horrible pain and rejection she’d endured earlier that day, so she clung to it and wrapped it around herself like armor as she drifted off to sleep. 

Son Goten wasn’t worth her tears. He wasn’t worth a damn thing. 

—

Outside Bulla’s balcony door, Goten dropped his forehead against the glass and clenched his hands into fists. 

This was what he’d wanted, wasn’t it? To be free of the bond and free of Bulla, free of the guilt and the shame that had haunted him like a ghost since the night he’d taken her virginity. So why did he feel like he’d just lost the best thing that had ever happened to him?

He slowly slid down to his knees, tears swimming in his eyes. He’d gotten what he wanted, and now he felt like he’d do anything to take it all back. 

Too bad it was too late. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time passes, but not all wounds can heal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyyy guys! So we’ve got a time jump here, mostly because I didn’t want to write a whole chapter of sad moping followed by even more moping, because let’s face it, this is a pretty mopey story so far 😂 so I decided to jump forward and fill in the important gaps where I could. Also still deciding where all of this is going and trying to nail down all the details, so pls keep bearing with me 😂 thank you guys for being amazing and for all your kudos and comments and general awesomeness!!! 💜

_ Six months later  _

“Remind me again why I’m letting you bully me into this?”

“Because,” Trunks sighed heavily, fixing Goten’s silk tie for him, “my date flaked out on me, and after tonight I’ll owe you a favor that you can cash in on anytime.”

Goten groaned. “But I really hate these galas, and everyone’s gonna think I’m your  _ actual _ date again.”

Trunks raised a brow as he smoothed down Goten’s collar. “And is that so bad?”

Goten gave Trunks a flat look. “I mean, yeah, because it makes it harder to pick up someone by the end of the night if they think I’m your boy toy.”

“Eh,” Trunks patted his shoulder, done helping groom his best friend, “you’ll live.”

Goten batted his eyelashes and flashed Trunks a lecherous grin. “How about I cash in my favor now, huh? Just a quick little handjob, nothing crazy.”

Trunks rolled his eyes and smacked Goten upside his head. “ _ Bad Goten _ . Bad.”

Goten laughed and held his head, pretending to be in actual pain. “Ow. You’re so mean.”

“And you’re too horny for your own good,” Trunks said with a jab of his finger, turning to grab his own suit jacket and slide it on. “Besides, I’m sure it hasn’t been  _ that _ long since you last got laid, so get it together.”

Goten grimaced and ducked into the bathroom of the rather massive hotel room they were getting ready in, checking his hair and muttering, “Yeah, not really. Kinda having a dry spell.”

A six month long dry spell, to be exact. For all of Goten’s bluster and sexual banter - something that was just a regular part of his personality - he hadn’t managed to successfully sleep with a single person since… well. Since Trunks’ little sister. 

He’d certainly tried. After the disastrous, horridly painful end to his and Bulla’s affair, he’d tried to drown his sorrows in alcohol and sex with strangers, but drinking only made him more depressed and to his alarm, his dick seemed to be non-operational. He couldn’t get off with anyone unless he imagined they were his ex-mate, and he definitely wasn’t about to make a habit out of doing  _ that _ , so he stopped trying to hook up and stopped drinking and focused instead on work and training. 

Bulla Briefs really had ruined him, it seemed. 

Recovering physically from the breaking of their bond had taken Goten an entire  _ week _ . His ki had been a mess and he felt almost like he was sick with a horrible flu, but gradually he’d gotten better and regained his strength. In body he fully recovered, but his heart and soul were other matters entirely. 

He missed her. He dreamed of her. She haunted him despite the fact that he hadn’t seen or heard from her once since she told him to stay away from her. Every flash of blue that caught his eye, every sweet scent that was similar to hers,  _ everything _ made him think of her and  _ crave _ her. He might have forced them apart with Shenron’s help and severed the ties between them, but he was starting to realize that certain bonds simply couldn’t be undone so easily. 

He was wholly,  _ horribly _ , desperately in love with Bulla. And he hadn’t realized it until it was far too late. 

He was miserable, but what could he do? He’d crushed her and she had crushed him, and he didn’t think there could be any coming back from that. Not to mention, Trunks and Vegeta were still in the dark about the whole thing as far as he knew (and he was pretty sure he’d  _ know _ if they weren’t) and even if Bulla ever forgave him, he didn’t see how a relationship between them could ever actually work. 

“A dry spell?” Trunks asked, suddenly right next to Goten with genuine surprise on his face. Goten blinked out of his thoughts and froze when Trunks slapped a hand over his forehead, asking, “Are you sick or something, dude? You don’t  _ do _ dry spells.”

Goten chuckled uneasily and batted his hand away. “Yeah, well, first time for everything I guess.”

Trunks put his hands on his hips. “Seriously. Are you okay? You  _ have _ seemed kinda off lately. Are you depressed or something?”

_ Ugh, fuck _ . Sometimes he really wished that his best friend could be a little less perceptive here and there. “I’m fine!” Goten shrugged. “Really. I’ve just been busy, you know how it is.”

Trunks raised a skeptical brow. “ _ Goten… _ ”

Goten stared back until giving in with a heavy exhale.  _ Fine. Initiate evasive maneuvers. _ “Okay, you’re right.”

“Of course I am. So what’s up?”

Goten took a deep breath, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, biting his lip and feeling like he ought to win a damn award for this. “Well… it’s kinda hard for me to say, but…”

“Oh, come on, ‘Ten, it’s  _ me _ . There’s nothing you can’t tell  _ me _ .”

“Yeah… I’m just nervous because, well… I’m not sure how you’ll react. But the truth is…” Goten looked up at Trunks and stepped closer, puckering his lips exaggeratedly and reaching for him, “I’m hopelessly in love with you, Trunks.”

“You fucker!” Trunks groaned, knocking him back only to make Goten giggle and come at him again. “I thought something was actually wrong!”

“Something  _ is _ wrong!” Goten exclaimed, chasing after Trunks and making kissy noises as he tried to dash away from him. “Didn’t you hear me? I’m in love with you, Trunksie! Don’t run away from our love!”

Trunks yelped as he narrowly avoided being tackled to the ground by his best friend, and the two men continued to run around like children through the hotel room as Goten mentally high fived himself.  _ Evasive maneuvers successful. _

If only he could learn to fool himself half as well as he could fool the people around him. 

—

Bulla sighed, downing a glass of champagne as she listened to her date prattle on about… something. Something about some rare disease he nearly contracted while filming a movie in New Zealand, but it all went in one ear and out her other. 

She used to love galas. She’d expected to love them even more once she hit 20 and could legally drink at them, but fate had other plans. It always did, it seemed. Fickle bastard that it was. 

As it was, she’d had every intention of staying in that night but her mother had urged her to get out and have some fun, make an appearance, spark some good PR. She’d been nothing short of a hermit for the last six months, Bulma had pointed out, and sometimes putting on makeup and fixing your hair and slipping on a glamorous dress could work wonders for a healing heart. 

She certainly looked the part of a showstopper but beneath the wine-red satin gown, rare jewels and immaculate makeup, Bulla was mentally in old sweats and curled up under her blankets. 

“... But you know, that’s show business,” her date - Jonah something? Maybe? - laughed as he nudged her arm. She smiled back weakly, and he added, “So, what about you?”

She blinked, suddenly wishing she’d paid slightly more attention. “What about me?”

“Do you like bungee jumping? Thrill seeking stuff like that? Most girls I know are too scared to do that kinda stuff with me, but you strike me as the kinda lady who likes a good adrenaline rush.”

She just barely contained a snort. “You have no idea.”

“I knew it,” he grinned, eyes trailing over body, and she fought the urge to launch him through the nearest wall. 

He was cute. He was blonde and brown eyed and well-built, the typical action star sort of package, objectively quite attractive even if he was annoying as hell. But she couldn’t even begin to muster up any interest in him whatsoever, not even the fake kind that she typically was so good at bullshitting her way through. 

She wasn’t interested in  _ anyone _ . No man could catch her eye, no man could spark her interest, no man could turn her on and make her wanna get closer. She felt like that part of herself was dead and buried, a thing of the past thanks to a certain man she preferred to pretend no longer existed. 

She fucking hated Goten’s guts for it. 

She’d always prided herself on her strength and her emotional guardedness, taking after her father in keeping her feelings close to the chest and holding all but a few people at arm’s length. It was how she had always operated once she’d begun to mature, and it had served her well in terms of protecting herself from being hurt - until Goten happened and smashed through every wall she’d ever built without even trying. 

And then he’d left just as quickly, and she hadn’t heard a damn thing from him since. 

Not that she  _ wanted _ to, mind you. No, she was doing just fine on her own, no thanks to him. After their bond was broken, she had endured the physical recovery and then took a month off work to go train with Vegeta on Beerus’ world. She had come back stronger and clearer headed, the experience every bit as therapeutic as she’d hoped it would be despite her keeping it all a secret, but the hole in her heart and soul remained. Six months later, the story still hadn’t changed. 

On the outside, she put on a good show - she always did. She was exceptionally good at it. But the truth was, time hadn’t done anything to heal her wounds. In fact, sometimes she thought it was getting worse as the months dragged on. 

She missed him so much. She missed his goofy smile and the way he teased her and made her laugh, the way that he’d blush when she got him all flustered… the way that he’d moan  _ Princess _ in her ear in the heat of the moment, when they were tangled beneath the sheets. 

“Bulla?”

She blinked and looked at J-whatever, realizing she’d completely spaced out again and had absolutely no idea what he’d been rambling about. 

“Hey, I’ll be right back, okay? There’s an investor I need to go talk to,” she told him with a sweet smile, handing him her empty champagne glass before escaping. She sighed once she was safely away from him, but she only made it a few feet into the crowd before she was accosted by an actual investor and pulled into yet another inane conversation. 

Yeah, she really hated galas. 

She was wearing a tight but polite smile and listening to the old man in front of her drone on and on about how capsule technology could be improved by integrating his patented new something or other when a distinct and  _ mouthwatering _ scent suddenly wafted right into her nose. She stiffened and felt a wave of heat crash through her, her blue eyes dilating and heart pounding as she inhaled deeply and  _ reeled _ . 

That was  _ his _ scent. It was unmistakable - she’d know it anywhere, amid thousands of others. 

“Hey, sis! You came after all,” Trunks’ voice sounded behind her, and Bulla turned around and plastered a smile on her face. 

Trunks pulled her into a hug, and she locked eyes with his plus one over his shoulder. 

There he was, in the flesh and before her eyes for the first time in six months - the man she loved, the man she hated, her former  _ mate _ . 

Goten looked just as panicked and shocked as she felt. He also looked incredibly delicious in his tailored black suit, and his scent was even better than she remembered. Masculine and clean and just the right hint of spice…  _ God _ it was perfect. 

“Yep,” she finally replied weakly as Trunks pulled away. “Mom twisted my arm.”

“Well, I’m glad. You look great, by the way. Oh, Mister Lee! Good to see you,” Trunks grinned at the investor she’d been chatting with, the two men bowing to each other as Bulla and Goten exchanged an uneasy glance. 

She just  _ knew _ she should’ve stayed home. 

—

Goten had checked the guest list well in advance to make sure that this exact situation would not happen, but here he was, face to face with the girl of his dreams and the absolute last person he wanted to see tonight. 

And by Kami, she looked like a fucking goddess. 

Her dress was silken and floor length, the color a deep red that contrasted beautifully with her pale skin and aqua hair. It was revealing as hell too, backless with a plunging neckline that showed off the perfect swells of her breasts, and if that wasn’t enough, a slit that rose all the way to her thigh. Her hair was twisted into an elegant side chignon, her long bangs curled lightly to frame her flawless, radiant face, and Goten could have almost laughed. As if she even  _ needed _ any of that to be the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. 

_ And Kami, her scent. _ How he’d missed it. 

How he’d missed  _ her _ . 

“Hi,” he finally managed to croak out, grateful that Trunks was distracted and not paying them any mind. 

Rather than answer him, she narrowed her striking blue eyes and her shocked expression quickly became a lot more angry. She stared him down for a few seconds and then turned her back to him, inserting herself back into the conversation with the investor alongside her brother. 

Goten let out a breath. Fucking hell, he was gonna need a drink or five to get through this. 

Thankfully, the gala had an open bar. He made a beeline towards it. 

—

“Might wanna slow down on the whiskey there, pal,” Trunks nudged Goten roughly an hour later. “I know this is boring but you’re gonna end up shitfaced.”

“Saiyans don’t get shitfaced,” Goten retorted in a flawless impression of Vegeta’s signature low growl. Vegeta had made that claim before many times, usually ending up throwing up not long after and proving himself very wrong. 

Trunks rolled his eyes. “Yeah, all right. Just don’t blame me when you feel like shit tomorrow.”

Goten ignored him and took another sip, eyes drifting towards a certain aqua-haired goddess across the ballroom for roughly the thousandth time in the last hour. She hadn’t spared him so much as a single glance since their brief interaction, but he couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. She was currently dancing with her date and giggling as she did so, seemingly completely unaffected by Goten’s presence and his scent. 

He didn’t know if she was just a good actress or if she really was  _ that _ over him. 

“Ugh, I can’t believe my sister brought that bag of dicks as her date,” Trunks grumbled, to Goten’s surprise. “Fuckin’ hate that guy. And look at him - his hands are on her  _ ass _ , in front of everybody!”

Goten just kept drinking, though his eyes  _ did _ drift lower and confirm Trunks’ words. The sight of another man touching Bulla -  _ his _ Bulla - like that made Goten want to raze an entire city to the ground. 

“Hey, Goten, go over there and cut in.”

Goten choked and looked at Trunks with wide eyes. “ _ What _ ?!”

Trunks shrugged. “If I do it, it’ll embarrass her and she’ll kick my ass. Just go cockblock the guy for me, all right?”

“But  _ Trunks _ -“

Trunks groaned. “Just do it and I’ll blow you later!”

Both men froze, Trunks immediately blushing and Goten’s eyes going wide. Then their eyes met and Goten snorted out a laugh he couldn’t quite contain, and that set Trunks off on his own giggle fit. 

“Kami, Trunks, if it’s that important to you I’ll do it,” Goten smirked, patting Trunks on the shoulder. “No blow job required.”

“Thank God,” Trunks sighed, “because I really don’t wanna suck your dick, Ten. But I would to protect my sister.”

“That’s… touching. Put that on a greeting card,” Goten joked. “Happy birthday to my lovely sister, for whom I would suck many dicks to protect…”

“Goddammit, just shut up and go,” Trunks laughed, pushing Goten towards the crowd. Goten stumbled slightly but took off all the same, their banter putting a smile on his face that faltered the minute he realized what he was really about to do. 

Situations like this were  _ exactly _ why it wasn’t a good idea to fuck around with the siblings of best friends, he thought as he made his way to the heiress. Luckily he was just buzzed enough to not chicken out and run away at the last minute, liquid courage coming to the rescue as he stepped up to the dancing couple and tapped her date on the shoulder. 

Both he and Bulla came to an abrupt stop, the former eyeing Goten curiously while Bulla had a distinct deer in headlights sort of look. Goten cleared his throat. “Mind if I cut in?”

“Yes, we mind,” Bulla snapped, and Goten wasn’t exactly surprised. 

Goten pointed his thumb over his shoulder towards Trunks. “Take it up with him, then.”

Bulla then narrowed her eyes at Trunks from across the room, and Trunks glared right back at her. After a few tense seconds of silent, vicious mutual glaring, Bulla rolled her eyes and muttered to her date, “Fine. Excuse me.”

He nodded, giving both her and Goten a slightly confused look before shuffling off. Goten and Bulla’s eyes met again, and she sighed as Goten reached for her hand. 

“He really needs to learn to mind his own damn business,” Bulla muttered as she took Goten’s hand and let him pull her close. Goten felt a sudden rush of heat and adrenaline at both the touch and her proximity, her scent so much more potent and intoxicating up close. 

“Sorry,” Goten replied, hoping his voice didn’t sound as shaky as it felt. He began to slowly dance her around, making sure to keep a respectable distance between their bodies. “Trunks saw him feeling you up, so he wanted to step in.”

Bulla snorted. “Whatever.”

Silence then filled the already awkward air between them, and Goten could hardly keep his head straight. Between keeping up appearances and dealing with Bulla’s scent and warmth and the general exhilaration of being in her presence for the first time in six months, not to mention the whole slightly drunk thing he had going on, he was pretty sure this whole thing was gonna end in disaster one way or another. 

As a result, he figured he might as well take advantage of the god-awful situation while he had no other choice. 

“I’ve missed you.”

He felt her stiffen in his arms. Then she turned her head and shot him a glare. “You don’t get to do that, Goten.”

He furrowed his brows in genuine confusion. “Do what?”

“You don’t get to say that to me after what you did and how you just walked away like nothing ever happened. I never even got a single call or text from you after the wish.”

“... Bulla, you  _ told _ me to leave you alone,” Goten pointed out. 

She rolled her eyes, turning her head away. “Yeah. And if you actually gave a shit about me, you wouldn’t have listened.”

Goten’s confusion shifted to irritation. “No,” he shook his head, eyes on her even though she was staring everywhere else but at him. “If you tell me to leave you alone then I will because I respect you and I take you at your word, Bulla. I don’t play bullshit games like that. It’s immature.”

“Oh, now it’s an age thing,” she scoffed. “You really still see me as a stupid kid, don’t you?”

“No, but you  _ should _ act your age instead of trying to play high school mind games,” he replied, his usual filter gone. The idea of her telling him that it was over and to stay away just to see if he’d try to come after her anyway as some kind of test was absolutely  _ infuriating _ . 

“God, you’re such a dick,” she groaned. “I should have left this stupid party the minute I saw you.”

Rather than take the bait and keep bickering with her, however, Goten looked at her seriously and asked, “Did you really want me to call you?”

She glanced at him and flushed just slightly before looking away. “No.”

As good of a liar as she was, Goten saw right through that particular falsehood. His hand resting innocently on her waist tightened by a fraction, and he glanced over at Trunks - his back was turned currently as he chatted up a pretty blonde - before leaning in a little closer and murmuring near her ear, “I really have missed you, Princess.”

She felt her shiver, and something deep within him purred with pleasure. So she  _ wasn’t _ completely over him just yet. 

_ Good _ . 

—

Bulla sucked in a deep breath, steeling herself. She would  _ not _ let him get to her. She would absolutely not give him the satisfaction of letting him see her affected by him, regardless of his words or his proximity or his stupid  _ fucking _ mouthwatering scent. None of that mattered, she reminded herself. 

He was still the jerk who didn’t want her. Or at least that’s what she told herself to make the situation bearable enough to get through the days without breaking down all over again.

“Your plus one… are you dating him?”

“Maybe, maybe not,” she shrugged. “What’s it to you?”

“Trunks doesn’t seem to like him very much.”

“Trunks doesn’t like anyone I date.”

It was true enough. The fact that she kind of hated the guy too was neither here nor there. She’d only let him feel her up during their dance in the hopes that Goten would see and get jealous. Not that she was gonna admit to  _ that _ anytime soon. 

Then, to her surprise, the hand on her waist slipped to the small of her back and he pulled her in just an inch or two closer, whispering into her ear, “You know you can’t replace me that easily, Bulla.”

She swallowed hard, cursing her body for reacting so instantly to him. All at once she was flooded with memories of their times together, of the unrivaled passion between them and how rough and perfect Goten was, and how effortlessly they fit together. How  _ endless _ the pleasure her body was capable of at his hands. 

“You really think he can give you what you need?” Goten asked lowly, making goosebumps break out all over her skin. “That he can make you feel as good as I can? C’mon, Bulla, you’re smarter than that.”

She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to keep her gaze away from him. “You don’t know anything.”

“I know that I could drag you into an empty room and make you come at least three times before he even had a chance to wonder where you went.”

She shuddered and finally looked up at him, her eyes fiery but also pleading as they met his. “ _ Please _ stop, Goten.”

“Why should I? You never stopped when I asked you to,” he pointed out. 

“Because,” she admitted shakily, “my brother is right over there and I don’t need him to smell how turned on I am after dancing with you.”

Goten blinked at her as if waking up from a spell. His dark, dilated eyes cleared and he put a few extra inches between them, blushing hard. “Shit. Sorry. I…”

Bulla shook her head, pulling away from Goten entirely. “Actually, I think I’m just gonna go home. Tell Trunks I wasn’t feeling well.”

“Bulla, wait -“

She turned away and ignored him, walking off. “Bye, Goten.”

She never should have come out tonight, that much was clear. She couldn’t get back home and peel off her dress and climb under her covers soon enough. 

—

Goten took a moment to get himself under control before going back to Trunks. 

He didn’t know quite what had come over him during his dance with Bulla, but - no,  _ no _ , he did know. He didn’t want to admit it, but he knew full well why he’d lost control so quickly and so easily. 

Regardless of the wish that had torn them apart, Bulla was still his mate. Her blood, her ki, her scent still called to him like nobody else’s ever would or could, and resisting it was like trying to stop the sun from rising each morning. 

He was always going to want her, crave her,  _ love _ her. Nothing would ever change that. She was just a part of him now, whether the bond was sealed or not. 

He just wished he knew what the hell to do about it. The whole thing was such a mess, and Bulla wasn’t helping matters either. 

By the time he’d settled enough to feel comfortable returning to Trunks’ side, it was a moot point. Trunks was slipping out of the ballroom with a pretty blonde socialite on his arm, shooting Goten a quick salute goodbye, and Goten let out a sigh as he returned the gesture. Both Briefs siblings had left him high and dry, it seemed, but at least he still had an open bar to take advantage of. 

Drowning his sorrows in more whiskey sounded like  _ just _ what he needed. 

—

Her gown laying crumpled on the floor next to a discarded pair of designer heels, Bulla was changed into an old oversized CC shirt and thin pajama shorts, currently buried under three blankets in her bed as she tried and failed to get a single wink of sleep. 

She  _ hated _ Goten. She wished she’d never even met him, and that he’d never been such a constant figure in her life from the start. She just wanted to be normal and do normal things - date, flirt, make mistakes, have fun, but she couldn’t do any of that. 

How naive she had been to seduce Goten in the first place and demand to be treated like an equal, she thought as she flung an arm over her eyes. She’d had no idea what she was getting into but then again, neither had he. She had honestly just thought that it would be fun and a way to work him out of her system, and that she’d surely fall out of love with him once she actually  _ had _ him and inevitably tired of him. But how hilariously wrong she had been. 

Now she felt like she was broken at the ripe old age of 20. 

She wished that she could just cut him out of her heart and soul, but if the wish to Shenron hadn’t accomplished that then surely nothing else would. She supposed that this was just her fate, doomed to forever love and crave a man who considered the connection between them to be the worst thing that had ever happened to him. 

Books and movies always made soulmates sound like a magical, beautiful thing, she mused, but the Saiyan version of it was nothing short of hot garbage in her opinion. 

With a groan, she tossed over to her back and stared up at the ceiling miserably. All but giving up on sleep, she glanced at the clock next to her bed - it was nearly 1 AM, apparently - and figured she might as well get up and head to the gravity room. Her father was usually up late training and a good sparring match would surely tire her out, though she would have to dodge his questions as to what was vexing her and keeping her up so late. 

She was formulating believable lies to feed him when her phone buzzed noisily with an incoming call. She furrowed her brows and grabbed the device, squinting against the brightness of the screen and then freezing when she saw the caller ID. 

It was  _ Goten _ . 

She shakily pressed her thumb to the green answer button and brought the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

“ _ Hey, Princess _ .”

She swallowed hard, willing her pounding heart to calm down. Even though he’d only said two words, they were slurred enough to prove how drunk he was. “What do you want?”

“I know it’s late, I’m sorry if I woke you. I just wanted to hear your voice.”

Her eyes fluttered shut, a quiet sigh leaving her lips. She hated how instantly and effortlessly he affected her, even just with his voice over a telephone line. “Goten…”

“I know, I know. And I know you probably don’t wanna hear from me. I don’t blame you.”

“How drunk are you, Goten?”

He chuckled. “Well, I can’t see straight or feel my face anymore, so.”

“Where are you? You’re not drinking and flying, are you?”

“Nah, I’m home. I appreciate the concern, though.”

“I’m more concerned about the buildings you might have flown into,” she replied bluntly. He just laughed dryly. “Seriously, Goten, what do you want?”

He was quiet for a moment. Then she heard a low, frustrated groan, followed by a one-word confession. “ _ You _ .”

Bulla let out a shaky breath, her free hand unconsciously tracing over the portion of her neck where his mating bite used to be. She opened her mouth to retort, to say something hurtful, but nothing came out. 

“I don’t know about you, but these last six months have been fucking hell on earth for me,” he admitted. “You’re all I can think about. I  _ dream _ about you, I -  _ fuck _ . You wanna know something, Princess? I can’t even fuck other people anymore. I tried to at first, but I… I couldn’t. I  _ can’t _ .”

Her eyes widened as she listened to him ramble. She couldn’t doubt the truth of his words, not when they were so audibly painful. 

“You fucked me up, Bulla. I think I’m permanently fucked up. I can’t move on, I can’t do anything. I’m just stuck.”

Against her better judgement, she decided to be honest, too. “Me too.”

“You are?”

“Yeah. Everything you said… it’s the same for me.”

He sniffled loudly, and she wondered if he was actually crying. “What the hell are we gonna do?”

And that was just it. The way she saw it, they could stay apart and be miserable or be together and be miserable due to the shit hitting the fan the second everyone inevitably found out about them. She didn’t see a misery-free option. “I don’t know.”

“I miss you  _ so much _ .”

The emotion and honesty in his voice was too much for her to handle. “I miss you too.”

“Seeing you tonight just…  _ fuck _ . I could have killed that guy for having his hands on you.”

She rolled her eyes. “I only let him do it to piss you off.”

“Yeah? Well, it worked. I don’t ever wanna see anyone touching you like that, Bulla. You’re  _ mine _ .”

She shivered, closing her eyes. “Not anymore.”

“Bullshit. You  _ know _ it. You  _ know _ nothing’s really changed.”

She really hated it when he was right. 

“I need to see you, Bulla,” he said next, his tone one of open desperation. “Please.”

“I - it’s late and you’re drunk, my dad’s probably still awake and -“

“Not tonight,” Goten clarified. “But soon. Don’t you wanna see me too?”

She winced, closing her eyes. “If we start seeing each other again you know what will happen. Weird stuff started happening before the bite, and it’ll just happen again. We’ll end up right back where we were before.”

“I know, but… I just… I need you, Princess.”

Her heart aching, Bulla found that she just didn’t have it in her to deny him. Not like this, not when he sounded as broken as she felt. Every instinct she had wanted to go to him, to comfort him, and pull him into her arms for the first time in half a year. 

“Okay.”

If every path led to misery, she decided, she might as well choose the less lonely one. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goten & Bulla reunite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys as always for your amazing comments & feedback!! I know I suck at answering them but believe me when I say each one is like opening a new present on Christmas 😍 hope you guys like this chapter! Vegeta finally makes an appearance 😂

Bulla hit the hard ground with a pained cry, groaning as her muscles protested and jaw throbbed from the brutal hit she’d just taken. 

Above her, Vegeta frowned and straightened out of his stance. “Uncharacteristically sloppy, Eschalotte. Gravity off.”

She sighed with relief at the immediate return to normal gravity from the 200g they had been sparring at, taking a minute to catch her breath. Then she opened her eyes and found her father scowling down at her, offering a hand to help her up. She took it and let him pull her to her feet, muttering a quiet, “Thanks.”

His frown didn’t waver. “What’s distracting you?”

“Nothing,” she lied automatically, but Vegeta only narrowed his eyes in reply. 

“You forget who you’re speaking to, girl. You think I don’t know when something’s bothering you?”

Bulla tried to suppress a sudden rush of guilt, turning on her heel and grabbing a nearby towel to wipe the sweat from her face. “It’s really nothing, Papa. Just…” she grimaced. “Girl… stuff.”

She turned back around and found Vegeta with his arms crossed and expression just as unconvinced as before. “And since when is such frivolity capable of distracting you? You are Saiyan royalty, Eschalotte, and you possess the power of the gods. You are above such nonsense.”

She smiled a little, finding a strange comfort in her father’s haughty talk. Some things in life never changed, and he was one of them. She was eternally grateful for it. “Yeah, I know. Just an off day, I guess.”

He raised a brow. “An off day, or an off six months?”

She froze, suddenly clutching her towel a little harder. “What?”

Vegeta’s frown deepened. “Don’t take me for a fool.”

Bulla swallowed, slight panic making her go a bit pale as she wondered just what he was getting at. Did he know? Surely he didn’t, since Goten was still breathing, but then again she’d never truly expected her mother to keep it all a secret from him. There were never any secrets between Bulla’s parents, but she’d assumed that there were now since all hell had yet to break loose. 

After a tense few seconds, Vegeta sighed and began to walk away, heading towards the gravity room door. But he stopped just after he passed Bulla, pausing before telling her, “I know I’m not the warm and cuddly sort like your mother, so I don’t expect you to confide in me what you might in her. But know that I’m here when you’re ready.”

Her heart was pounding. “When I’m ready for what?”

“To tell me what’s so vexed you all this time.”

She nearly broke down and told him everything right then, aching to stop the lies and hiding and seek her father’s comfort and wisdom instead, but fear of his reaction stayed her hand. “What if,” she breathed, “it was something that… you’d hate? And… be extremely angry about?”

Vegeta was silent for a moment. When he spoke again, his tone was quiet. “Then I would say that you should respect me enough to give me the chance to form my own opinions instead of making assumptions.” He paused and added, “I would also point out that cowardice has never been your style.”

And with that, he exited the gravity room and left Bulla alone with her thoughts. She let out a shaky breath and wondered what the hell had just happened, not sure what to even think. 

Bulla left for her room soon after, showering off the training session as she mulled Vegeta’s words over almost obsessively. She replayed everything that he’d said and tried to pinpoint whether he knew about her and Goten or not, but in the end she just didn’t know. She didn’t think he’d be so calm if he did, and he easily could have been speaking generally. Maybe she was just paranoid and projecting, she thought after getting out of the shower and wrapping herself in a fluffy bathrobe. Besides, she was confident that the chances were zero that Vegeta would have said and done nothing to Goten had he known what he’d done to his much younger only daughter. 

Running a brush through her long, damp hair, Bulla wandered into her room and grabbed her phone off of its charger with her free hand. Her belly performed an impressive flip when she found two texts from Goten waiting for her. 

_ Can I see you today sometime?  _

_ I’m done with work early. We could take a walk on the beach and talk. _

She blinked in surprise, a small smile touching her lips. The gala had been only a few days earlier, and she and Goten hadn’t yet found the time to see each other as agreed. She’d expected him to ask her over to his place at a much later hour, but this was a pleasant surprise. As much as she missed being intimate with him, she was glad that he wasn’t jumping to that immediately and just assuming how their first encounter alone would end up. 

Not that she had much doubt that they’d end up in bed one way or another by the end of the night, either way. 

_ Sure _ , she typed back.  _ I’m free at 6.  _

His reply came in less than a minute.  _ Cool. See you then.  _

She grinned, biting her lip. She still hated him and wanted to smash his face into  _ several _ boulders, but she couldn’t pretend that she wasn’t beyond excited and happy at the prospect of seeing him again. 

She couldn’t help but wonder if he felt the same way. She kind of missed the days when she could have just reached out and touched his feelings and found out. 

—

Goten stuffed his hands into the pockets of his shorts, kicking at the sand beneath his sandals and nervously glancing around for the hundredth time in five minutes. It was now 6:05 and Bulla had yet to show up, and Goten felt like his nerves were about to crawl out of his body and punch him in the face. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so anxious. 

Winter had recently succumbed to the warmer days of spring, and the beach was busy and fairly crowded with folks eager to soak up the sun. It was why he’d chosen the beach to meet her at, thinking the anonymity the crowd provided would be helpful and also not wanting to ask her to his apartment and make it seem like a thinly veiled booty call. That wasn’t what this was about. 

He was in the process of reaching into his pocket to check the time yet again when a soft, familiar voice rang out behind him and made his heart jolt in his chest. “Sorry I’m late - traffic sucked.”

He whirled around and smiled, drinking in the sight of the woman who’d turned his life upside down. She was in small denim shorts and a loose, flowy cropped tank that showed off her inhumanly toned abs, simple but strappy sandals on her feet and a floppy sun hat on her head. The only thing he didn’t love were her dark sunglasses and that was only because he couldn’t see her big blue eyes through them. But she  _ was _ rather famous, so he understood her need for them. 

“Hey,” he greeted dumbly, suddenly feeling like an idiotic teenager all over again. “You came.”

“I said I would,” she grinned. “Did you think I’d stand you up?”

“Maybe,” Goten shrugged. “I mean, I wouldn’t have blamed you. You look amazing, by the way.”

“Thank you,” she smiled. “You’re not so bad, either.”

He floundered for a minute, amazed at how thoroughly this woman could throw him off-balance and make him feel absolutely useless by merely existing. But that was all part of why he was so drawn to her, and he’d desperately missed that alluringly helpless feeling he always got when he was around her. 

“So,” he said after he pulled himself together, “I thought we could walk and just… talk some things out, if that’s okay with you.”

“That’s why I came,” she replied. “Lead the way.”

He took a breath. “Okay.”

About five minutes later, they’d passed the busiest section of the beach and were strolling leisurely down the mostly unoccupied parts of it. Goten realized just how right he’d been to pick this area, considering how much less potent Bulla’s scent was in the open ocean air. Aside from when the breeze blew it directly into his nose, he was able to avoid slipping into the haze that her scent easily enveloped him in. 

“So… I think I should probably start off with an apology,” Goten said, hands in his pockets and eyes on the ground as they walked side by side. “I didn’t handle things very well, back when we were… doing what we were doing. I don’t think I handled  _ anything _ right, actually, and I know that I hurt you more than once. I’m sorry. I never wanted to hurt you, but I did and… I wish I could change how it all happened.”

Bulla was quiet for a moment. “... I owe you an apology too,” she eventually admitted. “Or several. I didn’t exactly handle things well either.”

Goten shook his head. “You’re so young, Bulla. I’m the older one and I should’ve -“

“No, let me talk,” Bulla insisted, and Goten immediately shut up. “Listen. I know who I am, okay? I’m spoiled, I’m selfish, I always get what I want and I’ll pretty much do anything to make it happen. And as much as I hate to admit it, I’m not nearly as mature as I’d like to think I am. I’ve realized that, in these last six months. And it wasn’t fair of me to blame everything on you or expect you to be ready to put your whole life on the line for my sake. I see that now. So for what it’s worth, I’m sorry, too.”

Goten stared at her, her words taking him by immense surprise. She returned his gaze through her dark sunglasses for a few seconds before sighing and taking them off, much to his relief. 

“The wish was the right thing to do,” she muttered, looking away again. “I knew it deep down the whole time, but it just…  _ hurt _ so much. And my instincts were being so weird and my brain was a jumbled up mess. I wasn’t thinking straight at all, and when I told you to leave me alone and never speak to me again it was half honest at the time and half me just wanting to test how much you cared about me without the bond in the way. Which was completely unfair of me.” 

Goten blinked. Who was this woman? “Wow, Bulla, I -“

She snapped her eyes up to his and scowled. “Saying all of this is making my skin crawl, by the way, so don’t make me repeat any of it. You’re lucky I’m saying it at all.”

Goten smiled softly, almost telling her how much she looked and sounded like her father but quickly deciding that would just be a bit on the weird side. “I appreciate it,” he replied instead. “It means a lot to me to hear those words, so thank you.”

She huffed and nodded, averting her gaze once again. “Okay. But for the record, I’m still pissed at you. The last six months have been fucking horrible.”

“They have been for me, too,” Goten replied quietly. 

“I thought that with the wish I could just… move on and pretend like it all never happened,” she admitted, tone growing quieter as she looked out over the horizon. Goten found her even more beautiful than usual, her profile backlit by the setting sun and framed by gently crashing waves the same color as her hair. “I tried so hard to hate you -  _ really _ hate you - but… I can’t.” She then snorted softly and looked at Goten. “I hate you like my dad hates your dad. He can’t stand him but he can’t live without him.”

Goten chuckled, amused by her comparison. It seemed fitting enough. 

“I’m sure you feel the same,” she shrugged. 

Goten merely shook his head and gave her a sheepish look. “I can’t hate you, Bulla. Not even a little bit.”

She stared at him in surprise, and for a few minutes neither of them spoke. He looked away and kept putting one foot in front of the other, briefly closing his eyes when a cool breeze brought her scent wafting into his nose. 

_ Home _ , long-buried instincts purred from inside of him.  _ Mine _ . 

Fuck, he loved her  _ so _ much. 

Bulla cleared her throat. “Okay, so… what now? I mean, we can apologize to each other all day long, but what’s the point? Nothing’s changed, so…”

Goten shook himself from his brief distraction. “Well, I’ve been thinking. And we know that our bond isn’t ever gonna go away. We’re always gonna be drawn to each other no matter what we do. Right?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

He took a deep breath. “So… I think that we need to start really thinking about how we’re gonna deal with it.”

She raised a brow. “Meaning?”

He met her curious gaze. “Meaning we can’t hide it forever. And I don’t know about you but I’m fucking sick of hiding and lying.”

Bulla came to an abrupt halt, her eyes going wide. “Wait - are you saying you want to tell everyone?”

“Not yet,” he shook his head. “But I want to get to know you better, Bulla, and I want us to try a  _ real _ relationship and see if it would work between us. And if it does, then yeah, I think it would be time to come clean and just…” He trailed off, swallowing and glancing down. “Deal with the consequences.”

She stared at him long and hard, clearly searching his features for signs of deception. “You mean that? You want to try this for real. With me.” He nodded, and Bulla smiled bitterly. “I’m having a hard time believing you, Goten. How do I know you don’t just wanna fuck me again and string me along?”

“I guess you don’t,” Goten muttered, “and you don’t really have a lot of reason to trust me. But all I can give you is my word that I mean everything I’m saying.” He took a step closer to her, reaching out and taking her hand in his. “I’ve missed you  _ so _ much, Bulla. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you  _ once _ since all of this began. I don’t just want to sleep with you. I want to spend time with you and… talk to you, fight with you, cook you dinner, make you laugh. Make you happy, take care of you. Do everything right the way I didn’t the first time around.”

Bulla stared at him, her big blue eyes starting to shine a little, and he couldn’t help but reach up and cup her cheek in his hand. She blinked a few times and glanced down at his lips, parting her own and slowly leaning forward to close the gap between them. He moved to meet her halfway, closing his eyes, and then… 

…. A beach ball bounced off of his head and ruined the moment. They jerked apart and groaned as a random kid chased after the ball while giggling  _ sorry mister! _

“It’s fine,” he called over his shoulder, grinning a little when he noticed how adorably disgruntled Bulla was over the interruption. “ _ Sorry _ .”

She looked around them, then looked back up to him. “I think we should move this to your place. Get some privacy.”

He nodded, pretending that a small wave of heat didn’t wash over him at her words. “Okay. You sure?”

She grinned and took off her hat. “Race you there?”

—

Bulla beat Goten to his apartment, and it came as a surprise to neither of them. Once they landed on the roof of the building, Bulla grinned at Goten over her shoulder and teased, “Slowpoke.”

“Sure,  _ Super Saiyan Blue _ ,” he shot back with his own smile. “Has nothing to do with you being a literal goddess or anything.”

She flushed at his words, planting her hands on her hips and raising her chin proudly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Uh huh,” he chuckled. “By the way, how long were you gonna keep that cat in the bag?”

She shrugged and began to follow him into the stairwell. “It was kinda fun watching you be continuously shocked with each new level of strength I showed, even if you were kind of a dick for assuming I was weak in the first place.”

“Listen, in my defense, I never knew you were even remotely interested in training,” he said as they descended several flights of stairs. “You never sparred with me or Trunks,  _ ever _ , and most of the time when I saw you at Capsule Corp you were either on your phone or hanging out with Pan. I didn’t think you were  _ weak _ , exactly, just not into fighting.”

“Well, that’s what you get for assuming. And I would have sparred with you two if you’d ever asked me.”

“Fair enough. So did Vegeta teach you to go blue?”

“Him and Whis,” she replied. “I’ve spent a lot of time training on Beerus’ world.”

Goten eyed her in surprise. “No shit?”

She shrugged. “Beerus and Whis are like uncles to me. I’m actually Beerus’ top candidate for his eventual successor.”

Now on the same floor as Goten’s apartment, Goten froze and stared at her wide-eyed. “ _ No shit _ ?”

Bulla giggled proudly. “I don’t really wanna be a Destroyer, though. At least not at this point in my life. I’m keeping my options open.”

Goten brought her to his door and began unlocking it, repeating incredulously, “ _ Keeping your options open _ . Fucking hell, that’s crazy. Barely 20 years old and you’re being groomed as a God of Destruction for an entire universe.”

“Yep,” she grinned, letting herself inside his place when he opened the door for her. “Guess I’m just special like that.”

“I guess so,” he chuckled, following her in and closing the door. He watched as she slipped off her shoes and looked around the apartment, likely taking note of how pretty much nothing had changed since the last time she was there. “Want something to drink?”

“Just water,” she replied, and he nodded as he walked past her to slip into the kitchen. She walked behind the old couch that still sat in his small living room, running her hand over the back of it and musing, “I missed this place.”

“Oh yeah?” he asked, filling up a glass with ice and filtered water. “And here I remember you turning your nose up at it the first time you were here.” He then brought her the glass of water and found her smiling as he handed it over. 

“Well, it has its charms,” she shrugged, taking a sip. 

He gestured for her to have a seat on the couch, and after she took one side of it he took the other, leaving enough space between them to be respectable but not awkward. “So,” he smiled, “tell me more about your training.”

“What do you wanna know?” she asked with a small grin. 

“Mostly how you accomplished so much so young when it took my dad decades to reach that level of power. It’s fucking amazing.”

“Well,” she set her water glass aside and angled herself towards him, “my dad started training me before I could even walk. You know how your brother had crazy power when he was a kid but it was unstable and he couldn’t control it for a long time? I was the same way, but worse.”

Goten’s eyes widened. “ _ Really _ ?”

She nodded. “I broke a lot of shit. Almost broke my mom once, which is when my dad got serious. He was brutal. I remember being like five and him shoving a senzu bean in my mouth after I fractured my spine in one particularly rough training session.”

Goten’s eyes widened. “Shit.”

She chuckled and shrugged. “It worked, though. I learned to control my power and I ended up loving it and wanting to learn more and get better. I also loved engineering and tech, though, so I split my time between my tutors and my lab and training.”

“Kami,” he marveled. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I trained a lot as a kid and I loved it too, but… it was just fun for me, you know? I wanted to keep up with Trunks and beat him, but otherwise I just… I don’t know. Wanted to play video games and hunt for cool bugs outside.”

“I had fun too,” she shrugged. “Mostly with Pan, or when my mom would take me shopping and stuff. But training and learning and working  _ is _ fun to me. Always has been.”

“You sound like my brother,” Goten grinned. “Giant brain  _ and _ massive power, too.”

“Jealous?” she smirked. 

“Hell no,” he grinned back. “I used to be jealous of Gohan, but I’m way past that. We all have our own strengths, right? I am what I am, and I’ve made peace with that. I’m smart but I’m not a genius, and that’s okay. And I’m strong but not the strongest, and that’s okay too.”

“You could be, though,” Bulla pointed out. “You’re a Saiyan. Saiyans don’t do limits.”

“I know. But I like the balance I’ve found between training, work, life, all of that. I don’t have a big thirst for power and shit like my dad does. Guess my human side wins out there.”

Bulla smiled. “Seeing me go Blue doesn’t get you all fired up and make you wanna surpass me?”

“Oh it gets me fired up,” he replied with a dark little smirk. “Just not in the way that you’re thinking.”

She blushed and smirked back. “I can’t imagine what you mean.”

“Uh huh,” he chuckled. “Go ahead and play innocent, Princess.”

“I never claimed to be innocent,” she replied. “Especially not after you got your hands on me.”

Her words made him pause and look at her with a dark glint in his eyes. She merely smirked and asked, “You  _ love _ the fact that you were my first, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” he replied, tone far more gravelly and low than usual. “You know I do.”

Bulla grinned and looked away, smoothly rising to her feet and strolling towards the living room window. Goten watched her as she moved, letting his eyes rove over her curves and long legs, the way that her cascading hair swished with each step, and he couldn’t help but feel his hunger stir from within. 

It may not have been his intention to bring her home and seduce her, but now that she was here and her scent was permeating his senses and she was just so  _ close _ , he couldn’t help but let his instincts guide his next actions. 

As she leaned against the windowsill and looked out over the city - the apartment didn’t have the best view but also not the worst - Goten slowly approached her from behind. Once he was close enough, he reached out and delicately brushed her hair over one shoulder and bared the side of her neck that had once held his mating bite. She shivered faintly at the touch, and when she made no move to pull away or otherwise discourage him, he leaned down and pressed his nose to that spot and inhaled deeply. 

His entire body shuddered and came alive. It was like truly breathing again for the very first time since they’d parted ways, and when he exhaled it was through his mouth and shaky against her skin. “ _ Fuck _ ,” he groaned low, dragging his lips across that same spot and all but drowning in her. 

Meanwhile, Bulla’s hands had tensed on the windowsill so hard that her fingers left permanent indentations. “Goten,” she sighed, eyes closed and head tilting to the side to allow him more room, “if you bite me again I’ll cut your balls off and feed them to my cat.”

He huffed out a chuckle, though his teeth  _ did _ start to ache as soon as she said those words. Now that he was aware of his instincts unlike last time, he recognized  _ so _ much more than he had then. He  _ wanted _ to bite her even now, to sink his teeth into her flesh and claim her, and he felt the desire down in his very bones. His Saiyan blood knew what his human blood had been so reluctant to accept, or even consider - that Bulla was  _ made _ for him, and he for her, and that fate had willed it so. 

Nonetheless, he pressed a gentle kiss to her skin and murmured, “I won’t, I promise.”

“Good.” Then Bulla turned around in his arms and met his gaze, her eyes every bit as dark and dilated as his own. She drew him closer and her nose brushed his, her warm breath dancing over his lips as she whispered, “But you can bite  _ other _ parts of me if you want.”

His hands gripped her hips hard, Goten’s eyes falling closed as he breathed, “Don’t tease me, Princess.”

“I’m not,” she managed to reply softly before he captured her lips in a fierce, desperate kiss. She kissed him back with equal fervor, her arms winding around his neck as one of his hands slid into her hair. He shuddered at the familiar, intoxicating taste of her mouth, groaning softly as he slid his tongue into her mouth and spun her inhumanly fast to slam her against the wall. 

_ How had he gone so long without this, and without her?  _

They kissed and kissed until their lungs burned for air, Goten breaking away only to start trailing his lips down her throat as she sighed and ran thin fingers through his hair. He kissed across her collarbone, drifting lower until she reached down and pulled him back up for a hungry kiss. Then she started tugging impatiently at his shirt, and when he didn’t break the kiss to yank it off like she wanted, she growled into his mouth and just ripped the fabric right off of him. 

He pulled away, panting and staring at her darkly. In all of his years, nobody had ever ripped off his clothes like  _ that _ , leaving them as nothing more than shreds on the floor. She smirked up at him and smoothed her hands over his chest and down to his abs, reacquainting herself with his body as she mused, “I almost forgot how beautiful you are.”

He hissed slightly as her nails raked gently over his tensed muscles. “Can I… confess something?” She raised a brow curiously, and he smiled and blushed as he continued, “I never forgot how beautiful you are because I still have every dirty picture you’ve ever sent me, and I look at them way more than I should.”

Now it was her turn to blush. “Oh,” she muttered, a deceptively small smile on her lips. “Well… maybe I’ll have to send you some new ones.”

“Real thing’s better,” he groaned before kissing her again, his hands sliding up her waist and sides until they reached her small, flowy tank. He boldly slipped his hands up under the fabric and growled into her mouth when he found her bare underneath. Before he could think twice, he returned the favor and tore the tank right from her body, leaving her gasping and bare save for the little shorts she still wore. 

He looked down and unknowingly purred low in his chest as he drank in the sight of her perfect breasts, his hands cupping and squeezing them as he admitted, “Fucking missed these.”

She grinned and arched into his touch. “ _ More _ .”

He was all too happy to comply, dipping down to wrap his lips around one nipple while his fingers played with the other. He licked and sucked like a starving man, reveling in the quiet moans that spilled from her lips as she held his head close and enjoyed the sensations. He could smell her arousal growing, her sweet scent becoming sharper, spicier, and his mouth watered at the thought of really devouring her. Unable to resist, he pulled away and dropped to his knees before her, pulling down her shorts and panties in one tug as he went. 

After her remaining clothes were tossed aside, he brought his hands to her hips and leaned in to nuzzle her, simply inhaling and letting her overwhelm his senses. “ _ Bulla _ ,” he groaned, strangled, before pulling one of her legs over his shoulder and sinking his teeth into her inner thigh. 

She gasped and grasped his hair tightly between tense fingers. “ _ Harder _ .”

He looked up at her and bit her again, right next to first spot, and this time he left a mark that would last a few days. She seemed to love the pain of it, her ki spiking briefly as she moaned, and as he licked over the mark he noticed that the ache in his teeth had eased some.  _ Huh _ . That was one way of coping, he supposed. 

As he kissed his way to her center, he murmured, “You smell so good, Princess.” Then he licked up her wetness, her entire body shivering in response, and his eyes fluttered shut as he groaned, “Taste even better.”

Bulla’s head hit the wall as he got to work, his tongue eager to please her and not interested in teasing or drawing it out. It had been so long and all he wanted was to make her feel good and feel her gushing on his tongue, though he did have one thought that sprang to mind.

He pulled away to catch his breath, slipping two fingers inside of her and raising his eyes to hers. “Baby?”

She looked down, biting her lip and flushed all over, her hair hanging prettily in curtains around her face. “Y-yeah?”

His fingers stretched her, massaging her most sensitive spot inside, and he flicked his tongue on her clit a few times before asking, “Has anyone else done this to you?”

She shook her head. “There hasn’t been anyone since you, Goten.”

“Good girl,” he murmured, fingers moving deeper and faster. “This sweet little pussy’s all mine, isn’t it?”

Bulla’s only response was a loud and satisfying moan that came as he wrapped his lips around her nub and sucked, her body starting to tremble. He didn’t stop, and within only seconds she was pulling his hair and arching against his face as she cried out and came on his tongue. He groaned and licked up all of her sweetness, gently easing her down from her orgasm and only stopping to catch his breath once the last aftershock had left her. He pulled his fingers from her and looked up, wiping off his face with a scrap of ruined fabric from the floor and watching as Bulla slumped against the wall and panted hard. 

Then Goten got back up to his feet and scooped her up in his arms, and Bulla happily allowed him to. He kissed her lips once and turned to walk them out of the living room and into his bedroom, and when Bulla laid her head down on his shoulder during the short walk there, an old memory resurfaced that he hadn’t thought of in years. It was of him, 17 years old or so, carrying a sleeping 4 year old Bulla to the couch in his mother’s home in Mt Paozu during a barbecue. She’d laid her head on his shoulder in the same way back then, and he recalled finding her adorable and kissing her forehead before leaving her to her nap on the couch and heading back out to spar some more with Trunks. 

A twinge of guilt pulled at his heart, but it didn’t devastate him the way that it would have before. Their age difference was complicated and hardly ideal but it mattered less and less to him as time went on, especially considering their Saiyan blood didn’t seem to give a single fuck as to how many years separated them. 

Either way, he pushed the memory from his mind as he approached his bed and gently laid Bulla down on it. She grinned up at him and gently stretched her limbs as he straightened up and worked on getting the rest of his own clothes off. Once he was naked, he reached over to his nightstand and opened the drawer while Bulla watched curiously. When he pulled out a condom, she paused and said, “I don’t wanna use that.”

He looked at her, uncertain. “... You sure? I know we never did before but we should have.”

She shook her head, sitting up and moving her legs to dangle over the side of the bed. “I’m sure. I’m still on birth control.” She took his hand and pulled him to her, opening her legs so he could stand between them. “And I want your come.”

He shivered, gazing down at her darkly. “Dirty girl.”

She grinned, wrapping a hand around his cock and stroking lazily, licking her lips as she watched herself touch him. “I’ve missed having this in my mouth. And inside me.”

His cock twitched in her hand at her words, and Goten groaned, “Yeah,  _ fuck _ , me too.”

“So those pictures of me,” she said conversationally, “do you get yourself off to them?”

“ _ Yes _ ,” he admitted, looking down and watching as she leaned in to lick off a few drops of precome. She swirled her tongue around his head and he cursed, fighting the urge to grab her hair and shove himself into her throat. Normally it wasn’t something he’d entertain the idea of but  _ fuck _ if she didn’t bring out his inner animal. 

“And you fantasize about me?” she asked, flashing him a deceptively innocent look before she took more of him into her mouth and sucked gently while still working the rest of him with her hand. 

“All the time,” he gritted out, fingers tangling in her aqua hair but not pushing or pulling. “Too much.”

She pulled off just long enough to murmur, “Tell me one of your favorite fantasies.” Then she took him back in again, deeper this time, and Goten’s eyes briefly rolled into the back of his head. She sure hadn’t forgotten how he liked it, that was for sure. 

He opened his mouth to answer but flushed and snapped his mouth shut. One fantasy instantly sprung to mind but he wasn’t sure how she’d react or if she’d be turned off, and he didn’t want anything to ruin this reunion that they were enjoying. 

She pulled off again, trailing her tongue up the length of him. “Tell me.” Then she swallowed him back down, and the words spilled out of his mouth before he could stop them. 

“You, in your Blue form,” he gasped, voice shaky, “fucking me.”

She looked up at him curiously, pulling off with a filthy little  _ pop _ . “Like, riding you?”

He shook his head, blush intensifying. “No.  _ Fucking _ me.”

She stared at him, her hand falling still as her brain put the pieces together. Then her eyes widened. “ _ Oh _ . Like with a… strap on?” Goten nodded, fearing the worst, but to his relief all she did was grin and say, “Holy  _ shit _ that’s hot.”

His own eyes went wide with relieved surprise. “Really?”

“Oh yeah,” she giggled, taking his hand again and tugging as she scooted back on the bed. “We should try that one of these days. Come here.”

Goten wasn’t about to argue, grinning back at her as she pulled him down on top of her and kissed him long and hard. She never failed to impress him, and he wasn’t sure that he’d ever been so physically compatible with anyone ever before even without the added Saiyan bond factors. She was simply exquisite, and he never wanted to let her out of his bed or out of his sight again. 

He nipped at her lower lip, and the ache in his teeth came back. “Fuck,” he groaned, turning his head away from her as he tried to will the unwanted urge away. 

“What’s wrong?”

“I want to bite you,” he admitted, a bit ashamed looking as he met her gaze. “My teeth and my gums ache like I  _ need _ to do it.”

She nodded. “I’m… my neck, where you bit me before, it’s… throbbing and itching, kind of. It’s hard to explain, but I think it’s me wanting the bite, too.”

He stared at her, shocked at how much different things were now that they were fully aware and had already gone through the process once. “Shit. This is gonna be hard.”

“I know.” She swallowed hard. “If I… in the heat of the moment if I ask you to do it, don’t, okay?”

He grimaced. He couldn’t imagine anything harder. At just the mere thought of her asking him to claim her, it nearly sent him into a frenzy. How on earth could he deny her?

“Promise me, Goten.”

“I promise,” he relented, meaning it. “Just try not to do that. It would be torture.”

“I will,” she nodded, pulling him back down for another kiss. “I just want you so  _ bad _ .”

He groaned against her lips, their bodies moving together and finding just enough friction to feel good and make them need more. “You have me, Princess. You’ve always had me.”

He felt her shudder underneath him, and then she was wrapping her legs around his waist and demanding, “Fuck me,  _ now _ . I need it.”

He teased her first, reaching down between them and rubbing his cock against her, making her jolt and rock up to try and fail to take him in. “You need my cock, huh, Princess?”

She groaned, flushed all over and sweaty and utterly wanton and  _ perfect _ . “God, yes, give it to me.”

He grinned, continuing to toy with her. “Talk dirty, baby. Tell me what you want.”

Her eyes sprang open, clearly angry at him for his teasing but she played along anyway. “I want you to put that big perfect cock in me and  _ destroy _ me.”

He shivered. “You want it rough?”

“I want it to  _ hurt _ .”

He plunged inside of her without a second’s hesitation, filling her all the way up without giving either of them a moment to adjust. She cried out at the sudden but welcome intrusion and Goten cursed and clenched the sheets under his fists. She was almost as tight as she’d been the very first time, and he could hardly breathe let alone keep himself under control, but he  _ just _ managed. 

And since she asked for it, he didn’t let her rest for very long before he started thrusting deeply into her, knowing she could take it and that she liked the edge of pain. The proof was in the way that she moaned and sunk her nails into his back, tightening her legs around him and urging him on. He groaned and dropped his head down against her neck, overcome by her warmth and her scent and the pleasure that made him feel more alive than he had in months. 

But Bulla pushed at his head and whispered, “Not there, you’ll bite.” 

Goten growled and moved his head to the other, safer side of her neck. “ _ Fuck _ I want to.”

“Me too,” she admitted, rocking up to meet his thrusts and shivering with pleasure. “Really bad.”

“Want to make you mine,” he whispered, licking up the side of her neck and fucking into her harder. “Want everyone to see it and know it, know that you’re mine.”

“ _ Yes _ ,” she agreed breathlessly. “I wanna be yours, Goten.”

_ Mine _ , roared the beast inside, and his teeth ached so bad he almost gave in.  _ Almost _ . Instead he slipped a hand to Bulla’s lower back, tilting up her hips so that he could hit that spot  _ just _ right as he replied lowly, “You  _ are _ mine, Princess. Every inch of you belongs to me, understand? Nobody else will ever touch you.”

She moaned out in sheer delight, and he could feel her ki pulse with his as if in celebration. “Nobody else,” she agreed. “Only you.”

He kissed her hard, sloppily, and whispered, “That’s right. Only  _ I _ get to fuck this tight little pussy, don’t I? Only I get to see you like this and make you come. That what you want?”

“ _ Yes, oh, _ fuck I’m close,” she gasped, and he could feel her starting to tighten around him, ready to burst. “Don’t stop, don’t -  _ oh _ -“

“Good girl, let go,” he purred, lifting his head and watching her beautiful face start to contort in bliss. “Come for me, sweet girl.”

And when she did, she moaned so beautifully and desperately it seared itself into his memory forever. He only managed to watch until about halfway through her release, however, because his own came upon him and the urge to bite became  _ irresistible _ . He buried his face into the pillow under Bulla’s head and bit into it instead of her as he came, his teeth  _ shredding _ that portion of the pillow until his orgasm finally rubbed away and left him panting and spent on top of her. 

When he caught his breath and managed to raise his head, he blinked and found Bulla’s hair now littered with feathers. She simply opened her eyes sleepily and grinned at him, her voice hoarse as she chuckled, “Good thinking with the pillow.”

He chuckled, placing a lazy kiss to her lips before rolling off of her. She snuggled up to him almost immediately, laying her head on his chest as he pulled up the sheets and covered them up. They were both a mess but they couldn’t be bothered to care. 

Goten ran his fingers up and down Bulla’s back soothingly, eyeing the ceiling tiredly as he thought back on the words they’d exchanged during the end of their romp. He was sure that it was all their Saiyan blood talking, but he couldn’t deny that he’d meant every word of it. Saiyan biology and instincts or not, what they felt was  _ real _ and inescapable and not even a dragon’s magic could erase it. 

The road ahead was not going to be easy, and in fact Goten was fucking terrified, but he couldn’t imagine ever being without Bulla again. It was simply unthinkable. 

When he noticed her breathing growing even, he asked, “Do you need to get home soon?”

She shook her head and mumbled, “No. I can stay the night.”

He exhaled in relief and kissed the top of her head. “Good.”

She then fell into a deep slumber in his arms, and Goten followed not long after. It was the best sleep either of them had enjoyed in months. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone would be interested in reading Goten’s, uh, fantasy being brought to life let me know 😳👉🏻👈🏻


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goten & Bulla’s blissful morning after, and yet another (but less traumatizing) interruption.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!!! Idk why but I struggled with this chapter and couldn’t figure out what tf to do with the second half of it but I finally pulled it together today 🙌🏻 Also! I at long last have a plan for how all of this is gonna end 😅 only took ten chapters for me to figure it out 🙄 Anyway thank you guys as always, I love each and every one of you, and I hope you like this chapter (and the ones that’ll be coming soon with lots of drama 👀) 
> 
> ALSO: TRIGGER WARNING for mild somnophilia in the fifth and sixth paragraphs of this chapter. Skip over those if you don’t wanna read, you won’t miss much 😅

The following morning, Bulla awoke in Goten’s arms for the very first time. 

The sun was filtering through the curtained window and the city noises were about the same as they were back in her own home, and Bulla couldn’t help but smile as she shifted gently and remembered all that occurred the night before. She was a little bit sore but she liked it, and when she rolled over to face Goten, her smile grew and she let out a sigh as she laid her head on his shoulder. 

He was laying on his back, head faced away from her, still sound asleep. He was naked like she was, covered from the waist down by the comforter they shared, and she brought her hand to his chest as she watched him snooze. He didn’t stir, and she recalled the fact that Son men were all notoriously heavy sleepers. It applied to Pan, too, whom Bulla had on multiple occasions only managed to wake up by dumping buckets of water on her face. 

But in Goten’s case, certain parts of him were already  _ quite _ awake. Her eyes drifted down to his lap and widened slightly before she grinned and blushed, glancing back up to his face. She let her palm caress across his broad chest, leaning up to press a few gentle kisses to his neck. He stirred lightly and rolled his head back towards her, but he still didn’t wake. She raised a brow, wondering just how much he could take before he woke up. 

She started peppering kisses down his chest and ran her hand down to his abs, tripping her fingers across the dips and ridges of his muscles before letting them drift lower over the blanket. She peeked up at him as she rubbed gently over his hardness, but all she got was a slight hitch of his breath. Wanting more than  _ that _ , she slipped her hand underneath the blanket and wrapped it around his cock, giving a gentle little squeeze.  _ That _ made him shudder faintly and stir, and she grinned as she started stroking him and trailing her tongue up to his nipple. 

He gave a quiet, sleepy groan and writhed a little as she slowly worked him, but to her surprise he  _ still _ didn’t actually wake up. More amused than anything by this point, she scooted down lower and pulled the blanket away with her free hand, taking a brief moment to admire the way that his cock looked in her hand before lowering her head down and swirling her tongue around the tip. He gasped, his eyes staying closed, and she grinned before sucking him into her mouth and moaning softly around him. 

_ That _ was what did it. At last his eyes flew open, and he breathed harshly as he looked down in surprise and slight disorientation. Then he blinked and grinned, letting out a breathless laugh as he dropped his head back down to his pillow. “ _ Fuck _ . Morning, Princess.”

She hummed around him in reply, watching him run a hand through his hair and gasp softly as she took him deep and swallowed. Then his eyes were back on her, his fingers slipping into her messy hair and hips gently rocking up into her mouth as she worked him. 

“You like that, baby?” he asked, voice hoarse from sleep and arousal. She moaned in affirmation, and his thumb brushed over her hollowed cheek as he hissed, “You look fucking amazing like this. So good to me, Princess.”

She pulled off with a  _ pop _ and smiled at him, stroking him as she replied, “I didn’t think you’d mind waking up to a blow job.”

“Yeah, you won’t hear me complaining,” he chuckled, and the sound turned into a moan as she took him back down. 

She didn’t stop until he arched and came in her mouth with an exhilarated gasp. She swallowed down most of what he gave her but let the rest make a mess as she pulled away, knowing he’d love the sight she made like that. He proved her right when he looked down, panting hard after his orgasm, and growled low in his throat as he pulled her up and crashed his lips to hers. He shamelessly licked the come from her chin and made her shiver, pulling away and murmuring, “You fucking kill me, you know that?”

She smirked, then moaned softly as she rocked gently against his thigh that was caught between her legs. She rocked again, more deliberately this time, and Goten looked down and watched. When his eyes flickered back up, they were darker and hungrier. 

“Feel good, baby?” he asked, gently grabbing at her ass with one hand and helping to guide her as he pushed up on his other to sit up. She planted her hands on his shoulders and nodded, and he murmured, “I can feel how wet you are. You gonna get off like this, just from riding my thigh?”

A breathless moan was her only answer, escaping her lips before she kissed him and started moving faster. He groaned against her lips, one hand staying on her ass while his other cupped and squeezed a breast, teasing her nipple and sending a jolt to her core. She dropped her head back and gasped, her pleasure only growing when he dipped down and replaced his hand with his mouth, and she could already feel herself nearing the edge. It never  _ did _ take much with Goten, even like this. 

When she came it was with a silent scream, her body shaking and stuttering against his, and Goten looked up to watch her as his fingers dug deeply enough into her hip to bruise. The slight pain only made it better, and by the time it was over, Bulla slumped forward against him and buried her face in his neck. 

“ _ God _ , baby,” he murmured, rubbing his palm up and down her slightly sweaty back. “That was fucking hot.”

She hummed and nuzzled him closer. “Your thigh feels a lot better than my pillows.”

His hand froze on her lower back. “You… do you ride your pillows to get yourself off?”

“Sometimes,” she shrugged nonchalantly, pretending not to blush a little bit. 

He made a strangled, tortured sort of noise and groaned, “Are you  _ trying _ to kill me? That’s…  _ fuck _ .”

She lifted her head and grinned at the look on his face. “Aw, does that turn you on? I can send you some pictures of it one of these days.” She paused. “Or better yet, maybe I can send you a video.”

Goten groaned and kissed her lazily, his hand slipping into her hair and holding her close as his lips lingered on hers. Then he slowly opened his eyes and smiled at her softly. “Can I ask you something?” 

“Sure,” she shrugged, assuming his query would be of the sexual variety. But she was wrong. 

“Why do you like me?”

Her brows furrowed. That was quite the question to spring on her before she’d even had coffee. “What?”

“Aside from the bond stuff,” he clarified. “Because I know you’ve told me before that you’ve always liked me and had a crush on me, but I just…  _ why _ ? You’re fucking incredible and a genius  _ and _ crazy powerful, and I’m… I mean, I’m fine with who I am and what I am. But you’re on a whole other level, Bulla, and you always have been. I just don’t understand.”

She smiled and eased closer to him, settling herself in her lap and wrapping her arms around his neck. “Well, for starters, Goten, I don’t know if you noticed but I didn’t have the  _ warmest _ upbringing. I mean, I love my parents, but there was pressure from day one to live up to my potential, you know? And my brother is just like them, but you’ve always been so  _ different _ . You’re sweet and warm and carefree and you never ignored me when I was little. You were nice and played with me and didn’t make me feel like a pest like Trunks did sometimes.”

He smiled. “I never minded playing with you when you asked. You were always so cute with your big blue eyes and your pigtails…” he looked away and trailed off, huffing. “Guess I’ve never been able to say no to you.”

Bulla could see the conflict in his eyes and how he was still trying to reconcile their age difference and the child that lived in his memories versus the grown woman in his bed. But unlike their first time around, it didn’t cripple him and make him pull away from her. 

And that was  _ huge _ . 

“But still,” he added with a shrug. “Sometimes I wonder if you’ll get bored with me and want to be with someone else. Someone stronger or smarter.”

She smiled and leaned in to press a tiny little kiss to the tip of his nose. “You know, you’re kinda adorable when you’re vulnerable like this and not all cocky. But trust me, you’re what I want. You always have been.” 

He smiled in response and kissed her gently. “All right. Just promise me that if that ever changes, you’ll be honest and tell me. Bond or no bond.”

She nodded. “Okay. I promise.”

The serious, tender moment was then interrupted by a loud growl from Goten’s stomach. They both grinned and broke into quiet laughter, and Goten sighed, “Guess that’s my cue to finally get out of bed and into the kitchen.”

“I call dibs on the shower,” Bulla grinned before hopping out of his lap and to her feet, stretching briefly. She sauntered off towards the bathroom, feeling his eyes on her naked form the whole way, and she tossed him a flirty look over her shoulder as she reached the door. “Although I wouldn’t mind some company.”

Goten grinned and didn’t hesitate to get up and follow her. “Funny, I was thinking the same thing.”

—

Roughly half an hour later, Goten was cooking up a hearty breakfast for himself and Bulla while the young woman in question sat perched on the kitchen counter next to him, sipping from a mug of coffee. She was wearing nothing but one of his old worn out sweatshirts - and looking amazing doing it - and her hair was thrown up into a messy bun, and there wasn’t a trace of makeup on her face. 

Goten was pretty sure he’d never found her more breathtaking. 

“That smells so good,” Bulla groaned, eyeing the bacon and eggs that he was frying in two different pans. “You and my dad make the best bacon.”

Goten raised a brow. “Vegeta cooks?”

Bulla grinned. “You didn’t hear it from me, but yes. My grandma taught him the basics, but one of his guilty pleasures is watching the cooking channel and making the recipes himself.”

Goten’s eyes widened and flew to her. “ _ Vegeta _ does that? Holy shit, that’s awesome.”

Bulla giggled. “Yeah but like I said, you didn’t hear it from me.”

“My lips are sealed,” Goten replied, turning his attention back to the stove. “It’s funny, I spent so much of my life at your house and around him but sometimes I still feel like I barely know him.”

Bulla shrugged. “That’s how he wants it. The whole air of mystery thing.” She paused and bit her lip, hiding another grin. “Wanna hear something crazy?”

“I’m all ears.”

“So, he never changed any of Trunks’ diapers as a baby. Mostly because he was barely around and, you know, a total douche back then, but anyway, he was a total parenting pro by the time I came along according to my mom. Wanna know why?”

“Why?”

Bulla pointed to Goten, her grin widening. “You.”

His brows flew up. “Me?!”

She nodded. “Since your dad was dead when you were born, my mom helped your mom out a lot and watched you to give her breaks. And since she had my brother too, she’d hand you off to Vegeta sometimes when she had to deal with him. And that’s how he learned how to take care of babies.”

Goten stared at her, flummoxed. He’d never heard even a single word of any of this before. “Are you pulling my leg?”

“Not even a little bit. My mom showed me a picture she snuck back then of the two of you and it was super cute. He was passed out on the couch with you sleeping on his chest, all tiny and with your crazy Goku hair. She said you actually preferred him over her, probably because of him being a Saiyan and his scent and all that.”

“That is… insane,” Goten marveled, blinking. He had certainly looked to Vegeta as a father figure as a child back when Goku was dead and even when he’d come back to life. He loved Goku and wouldn’t trade him, but Vegeta would always hold a special place in his memory. He just had no idea that it was at all mutual. 

He stared at the bacon sizzling in the pain, feeling a twinge of guilt. Vegeta had never been anything but good to him, in his own cold and aloof way, and Goten had repaid him by taking his daughter’s innocence behind his back. 

Goten’s bleak train of thought broke when Bulla’s hand snatched a piece of bacon straight from the pan. “Hey,” he scolded, tossing her a good natured glare. “Hands to yourself.”

She grinned around her mouthful of bacon. Less than a minute later, she stole another piece from right under his nose. 

“Hey,” he pointed his spatula at her threateningly. “No. Bad girl.”

“Aw, what are you gonna do?” she taunted, leaning a little closer to him with a devilish gleam in her eyes. “You gonna put me over your knee and spank me?”

He faltered, his eyes widening fractionally and a blush rising on his cheeks. He couldn’t help but immediately imagine what she’d said, and as a bolt of heat rushed down his spine, she nicked yet  _ another _ piece of the damn bacon. 

“Oh, you little,” Goten exclaimed, reaching for her only for her to disappear inhumanly quickly. He followed after her just as quickly, and after flashing around the apartment a few times she let him catch her. He pressed her to the wall closest to the kitchen, hands pinning her hips and lips just a breath from hers as he murmured, “If you  _ want _ me to spank you, all you gotta do is ask. But for now, be a good girl and let me finish breakfast, okay Princess?”

“Yes, sir,” she replied teasingly, looking up at him through her lashes and knowing damn well what she was doing to him. He groaned and stole a brief but hungry kiss from her lips before forcing himself away and flashing back to the stove, where all of the food was in serious danger of burning. At that point, however, he hardly would have cared if it had. He was eternally astounded by just how much power Bulla had over him without even trying and, most likely, without knowing it either. 

Then again, maybe she  _ did _ know. He started to suspect it when not even a full moment later, Bulla approached him from behind and wrapped her arms around his waist, standing on her tiptoes to press a kiss to the curve of his neck. He shivered and closed his eyes for only a second to breathe in her intoxicating scent, and when he opened them she was gone and so was the entire pan of bacon. 

_ “Goddammit, Bulla!” _

—

Seemingly against all odds, the pair  _ did _ manage to eventually sit down and have a proper breakfast together. Goten let Bulla do most of the talking during the meal, enjoying listening to her tell him about the latest inventions she was tinkering on and what else she’d been up to lately that he’d missed out on. She was an animated speaker and Goten felt as if he could listen to her describe paint drying on a wall and be completely content. 

Then again, maybe it was just the whole  _ being hopelessly in love with her _ thing. 

He wondered if she knew, if it was written all over his face the way that he suspected it was. He wasn’t even sure how long he’d known it himself, but if he had to pinpoint a time it likely would have been that split second in time when he’d watched her burst with unbridled divine power before he made the wish that tore them apart. It had been then that he’d realized beyond any semblance of a doubt that he would never feel for  _ anyone _ what he felt for her, and that she was truly one of a kind and a special, rare soul. 

The six months that he’d then spent trying to move on and live without her only served as further proof. Even without the bond and its strange effects, nobody had ever gotten under his skin the way that she had, and he’d never before felt true  _ agony _ over being without someone. 

He loved her. He  _ needed _ her. He would never  _ not _ need her. 

“Hello,” Bulla chuckled, snapping her fingers in Goten’s face. “Earth to Goten.”

Goten smiled and refocused his absent gaze on her. “Sorry, I got lost in your eyes there for a minute. My bad.”

She rolled said eyes but flushed slightly anyway. “You’re such a nerd.”

He grinned. “What did I miss?”

“I was saying that I need to get going soon,” she replied, reaching for her glass of OJ and quickly finishing it. “I’ve got a meeting today at noon and some work to do in my lab.”

“All right,” he nodded, though he felt a fleeting pang at seeing her go. Then he paused, eyeing her state of undress. “Do you need some clothes?”

“I came prepared this time,” she winked. “I’ve got a capsule in my purse full of spare clothes, since mine tend to get shredded around you.”

He smirked back. “Probably smart.”

“Mhm. I’ll go get changed,” she said, getting up and stepping over to his couch where her purse had been tossed the day before.

“Feel free to keep my shirt,” he said, resting his chin on his hand as he enjoyed the sight of her in nothing but the shirt. “Looks better on you than me anyway.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” she teased before prancing off to the bathroom, stopping briefly to lay a sweet peck on his lips. He then listened to the door shut behind her and promptly dropped his face and banged it lightly into the table. 

He was smack dab in the middle of the very same mess he’d been in before, before the bite had made everything worse, and this time he didn’t even have the decency to feel properly guilty about it. Bulla’s age, hiding everything from Trunks and Vegeta - he barely felt badly about any of it anymore. 

Either he had truly become a monster, he thought, or he was just too deeply in love with her to care anymore. 

Once Bulla emerged from the bathroom fully dressed and freshened up, ready to head home, Goten got up to walk her to the door. “When do you think you’ll be able to come over next?”

She raised a brow, turning to face him as they reached the door. “Missing me already?”

He grinned and placed a hand on the door behind her head, leaning closer and partially caging her in. “Maybe. We’ve got a lot of time to make up for.”

“We do,” she hummed, agreeing with him as she smoothed a hand over his chest up to his shoulder. “I need to get my own place. Then we could see each other whenever we want.”

“Good idea,” he murmured before happily letting her hook her fingers behind his neck and pull him in for a kiss. His free hand held her waist and he groaned as her tongue teased his, eventually only breaking the kiss to press his nose to the curve of her neck and inhale deeply. 

Again his teeth began to ache, and his instincts whispered to claim her. He ignored them, however, instead pressing a gentle kiss to where the bite used to be before raising his head and looking into her eyes. 

He could see the same need and desire reflected back to him in her eyes, and he wondered distantly how long they could resist before their more primal sides won out. 

“I really need to go,” she whispered, biting her lip and making no move to actually leave. 

He smirked, curling his index finger into a front belt loop of her jeans. “If you wanna come one more time before you go, all you gotta do is ask.”

She groaned and yanked him closer, demanding, “Fuck me right here against this door, hard and fast.”

“Yes, Princess,” Goten growled, hands flying to his own jeans as hers did the same, both of them more than ready to go at it one more time. 

Unfortunately, before either of them could even get their jeans fully unzipped, there was a distinct and loud  _ pop _ and, clearly having not learned his lesson the first time around, there stood Goku. Bulla and Goten sprang apart instantly while Goku giggled and rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Whoops! Guess I really need to start knocking.”

“Dude!” Bulla chastised, brows lowered and hands on her hips as she glowered at her mother’s oldest friend. “What the hell?!”

“Dad, we’ve talked about this,” Goten grumbled, fixing his pants and knowing his face was bright red because he could  _ feel _ it. 

“Sorry,” Goku laughed uneasily, holding up his hands in defeat. “Honestly I didn’t expect to see you here, Bulla! Thought you two were still on the outs.”

Bulla flushed and looked away, crossing her arms over her chest. Goten’s eyes shifted from her and back to Goku, giving a shrug as he replied, “Yeah, well, we’re figuring it out. Did you actually need something, or -“

“It’s fine,” Bulla cut in, her eyes giving away how desperate she was to remove herself from the awkward situation. “I was leaving anyway. Bye, Goten.”

“Bye, Princess,” he murmured back quietly, and they shared a small smile before Bulla slipped out the door. Once she was gone, Goten let out a breath and turned to face Goku again. He froze at the absolute shit eating grin on Goku’s face. “What?”

“Don’t ‘what’ me,” Goku giggled, nudging Goten with his elbow. “So you and Bulla made up, huh?”

“We… yeah, something like that,” Goten muttered, shifting on his feet. “But you still can’t tell anyone.”

“I won’t, don’t worry. Haven’t said a word to anyone this whole time. Well, except for Piccolo, though technically he figured it out himself…”

Goten’s eyes widened. “Piccolo knows?!”

“Yeah, but he won’t tell anyone. He’s good at keeping secrets, lot better than I am.”

Goten groaned. “Yeah but he never lies to Gohan, and if Gohan found out then Pan would find out and if  _ she _ found out...”

Goku’s eyes softened. “Well, son, it’s only a matter of time before more people know. If you guys are gonna be together, it’s inevitable.”

“I know,” Goten sighed. “And we talked about that. We just… both agreed to give it a real, honest try before worrying about coming clean to everyone. Because if it can’t work out, no sense in creating a bunch of drama over it.”

“Okay,” Goku nodded. “I guess that makes sense. But I bet Trunks isn’t gonna be happy with you when he finds out how long you’ve been hiding it from him.”

Goten frowned, not wanting to think about that. “Why did you come over here, Dad? Do you need something?”

“Oh!” Goku exclaimed. “Yeah! Your mom sent me here to get you so we can go shopping for Bulma’s birthday present.”

_ Aw shit _ , Goten thought. He  _ had _ promised Chi-Chi that he’d go shopping with her, Goku, Pan & Videl today. “Right, okay. Sorry, forgot that was today.”

“Yeah, I can see why,” Goku teased. “Speaking of Bulma’s birthday, her party’s in only three weeks. Hope you and Bulla are able to keep your cool around everyone.”

Goten cringed just thinking about the party. Bulla’s poker face was immaculate, but Goten… yeah, he couldn’t lie if his life depended on it. “Maybe I can get out of it, say I need to work…”

Goku’s brows shot up. “And get Bulma all mad at you? I’d rather deal with  _ Beerus _ all angry than  _ her _ . Plus you’ve never missed her parties before, so it would be more suspicious if you weren’t there.”

Goten really hated it when his generally airheaded father made valid points. “... Ugh.”

Goku chuckled and slapped his hand on Goten’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay, son.”

Goten raised an unsure brow. “You sure about that, Dad?”

Goku nodded, completely sincere. “Yeah! I think things like this have a way of working out, you know? Me and your mom, Bulma and Vegeta, Krillin and 18, Gohan and Videl… no reason why you and Bulla can’t work out too.”

“There’s… a lot of reasons why we might not, but I appreciate your optimism, Dad,” Goten smiled weakly. Goku gave his shoulder another squeeze. 

“Well, in the meantime… ready to shop til we drop?”

Goten made a face, and Goku made one to mirror it. 

“Chi-Chi promised a feast for dinner to make up for it.”

Goten perked up. His mother’s feasts were the  _ best _ . “All right. Let’s get this over with.”

—

When Bulla arrived back at home to Capsule Corp, her father’s energy was absent and her mother was hard at work in her lab but in the kitchen she found two people she hadn’t expected to encounter. 

“Bulla!” Pan grinned from behind Trunks, both of them dressed in their training gear and downing bottles of water. “I was wondering where you were.”

“Yeah,” Trunks grinned, looking his sister over, “where  _ were _ you? I figured you were with Pan but then she came over asking to train.”

Bulla rolled her eyes and strolled to the fridge, not giving anything away even in the slightest. “Since when are you my keeper, Trunks? Should I ask where  _ you _ were last night?”

Trunks leaned back against the counter, wearing a self-satisfied smirk. “Sure, but I don’t think you wanna hear the answer.”

“Gross,” Bulla grimaced, grabbing a canned espresso drink from Bulma’s stash and letting the fridge door swing shut. “So, Pan, did you kick his ass?”

Pan sighed, rolling her own eyes. “Not as hard as I’d like.”

“Hey, it’s alright,” Trunks replied, nudging Pan with his shoulder. “You’ll catch up with me eventually. Not your fault you’re a pipsqueak.”

“A  _ pipsqueak _ ?!” Pan bellowed, throwing a punch that Trunks quickly dodged. “I’ll  _ show _ you a pipsqueak!”

Bulla sipped her drink and laughed, watching her brother and best friend brawl lightheartedly. “Hey, don’t break the kitchen again. Mom would be super mad.”

Pan growled but eventually gave up, crossing her arms and pointedly turning away from Trunks. “Pft. I’m gonna go hang out with your sister now, she’s way cooler than you anyway.”

“Damn right I am,” Bulla grinned, though as soon as Pan was at her side Bulla grimaced and slapped a hand over her nose. “Holy crap, you smell like a gym sock.”

“Eh, it happens,” Pan shrugged. Then her nose twitched and she took a big whiff in Bulla’s direction, furrowing her brows. “You smell weird.”

Bulla froze.  _ Oh no _ . If Pan or Trunks smelled Goten on her… 

Pan inched closer and took another whiff. Bulla held her breath, then felt her heart sink when Pan’s eyes widened. 

“ _ Bulla! _ ” Pan gasped. Bulla stared at her as Pan then grinned and narrowed her eyes playfully. “I know that smell.  _ Someone _ got lucky last night.”

Bulla immediately deflated with relief. She could deal with  _ that _ . “Well,” she grinned back, “ _ maybe _ .”

“La la la,” Trunks sang, suddenly sticking his fingers in his ears and walking away. “Don’t wanna hear about it, don’t wanna know about it, la la la.”

He was gone in a flash, and Pan chuckled before giving Bulla a nudge. “What a baby. So who was it? Anyone I know?”

“Nope,” Bulla lied through a smile. “Nobody important.”

“Was it good?”

Bulla hummed, unable to lie about  _ that _ . “Oh  _ yeah _ .”

Pan sighed dramatically. “Man, I’m jealous.”

Bulla looked at her in confusion. “Why? You have a girlfriend.”

“Not anymore,” Pan frowned. “We broke up.”

“Oh. I’m sorry,” Bulla replied quietly. “Was it bad?”

“Not really. It was just kind of time, I guess. She was always more serious about it than I was, so… she deserved someone better.”

“... So you broke it off with her,” Bulla grinned slightly, “and didn’t waste any time coming over here to spar alone with my brother, huh?” 

Pan blushed but shot Bulla a glare from the corner of her eyes. “Don’t judge my coping skills, lady.”

“I’m not,” Bulla shrugged, though her small smile remained. “I just find it interesting, that’s all. And kinda cute.”

Growing even more flustered, Pan crossed her arms tighter and muttered, “Whatever, not like he’ll ever look at me like that. You heard him call me ‘pipsqueak’. I’m under no illusions.”

Now done with her coffee, Bulla patted Pan on her arm and offered her a sincere smile. “Hey, you never know. Besides, anyone who overlooks you is stupid anyway. You’re amazing and you deserve someone who treats you that way.”

Pan stared at Bulla. “T-thank you, but… wow, Bulla, you really  _ are _ in a good mood. Who are you and what have you done with the pissy little grouch from the last, like, six months? Did you just need to get laid?”

Bulla giggled and shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe. Anyway, I gotta get to work now but I’ll catch you later, okay? We can spar after dinner if you want.”

Bulla then all but danced away from the kitchen towards her lab, feeling like she was walking on air and looking like it too. She really  _ did _ feel better than she had in months, and she knew exactly what - or rather,  _ who _ \- the reason was. 

Maybe this time it would actually work out. The odds still weren’t quite in their favor, but she’d never given much thought to those. She had been defying expectations and breaking her limits since infancy, she reasoned, so why should this be any different? 

This time, she was  _ all in. _ She knew exactly what she wanted, and she  _ always _ got what she wanted. 

  
  



	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The proverbial shit hits the fan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PHEW. Guys I wrote over 7k of this chapter today and I am tired now 😅 It’s the longest chapter yet and you guys will see why 😂 I don’t have a lot to say about this one aside from buckle up my dudes, some stuff is about to go down 😳

Three weeks passed by all too soon. 

Goten prepared for Bulma’s birthday party by steadfastly ignoring that it was coming up at all, opting instead to focus on work, training, and seeing Bulla when their schedules allowed. It amazed him how effortlessly they seemed to pick up right where they’d left off, the main difference this time around possibly being how less often they fought. Where before they’d spent most of their time either fighting or fucking, they seemed to now understand each other far better and avoided that tulmultous cycle. 

In fact, Goten quickly found that his main problem was keeping himself in check and sticking to his word to not give Bulla his mating bite again. Every time they were together it got harder to hold himself back, and they saw each other a  _ lot _ over those three weeks. 

He almost gave in the night before the party, after Bulla had turned up outside of his dojo after closing waiting for him with a smirk. She was in a long peacoat and heels, and when they got back to his apartment, he discovered upon her shedding the coat that she wasn’t wearing  _ anything _ else. He asked her to keep the heels on as he hauled her off to bed to ravish her, and the next hour or so was a blur of pleasure and perfection - at least until the end. 

He was sitting up with his back to a pile of pillows and Bulla was facing him in his lap, bouncing on him and climbing towards her third orgasm while he strained to keep himself under control and not let go too soon. He was enveloped in her, in her delicious scent and the warmth of her body and the sweetness of her moans, and he kept his hungry mouth busy on her breasts to avoid the tempting and dangerous expanse of her neck. His teeth ached terribly but he reminded himself for the millionth time that biting wasn’t an option, at least not  _ there _ , and there was no getting around it. 

But then Bulla surprised him by grabbing his hair and wrenching his head up, guiding him to where his bite had once been and whimpering, “I can’t take it anymore. _ Bite me _ , Goten, please, I  _ need _ it.”

Goten groaned miserably even as he pressed his nose to her skin and inhaled, his gums throbbing and instincts screaming to open his mouth and bite down. “You don’t mean that, Bulla, I can’t -“

“Please,” she begged, holding him tighter and sounding more desperate and whiny than he’d ever heard from her before. “It hurts, it - I need it, Goten. Bite me,  _ claim _ me.”

His mouth watered and a deep, inhuman growl tumbled from his chest as he gently took her flesh between his teeth. But before he could bite down and give into her wish, he furrowed his brows and forced himself away, burying his face against her other shoulder and feeling a deep guilt when Bulla softly cried out in disappointment. 

“I’m sorry, baby,” he murmured before sinking his teeth into her skin where it wouldn’t forever bond them, on the other side of her neck. He wasn’t gentle but the pain only increased her pleasure and sent her over the edge with a blissful shout, and he followed her right after. 

After, Bulla panted and recovered for a few moments in his arms only to eventually pull away and groan, “Fuck, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he assured her, keeping one arm tight around her while his free hand reached up to brush her bangs out of her eyes. 

“No it’s not,” she insisted, unable to look him in the eye. “It was cruel of me to do that to you. I don’t even know how you held back.”

Goten chuckled. If he was being honest, the temptation to mark her was still great even now. “I don’t know either.” His small smile faded, however, when he noted how her eyes were starting to shine. “Hey,” he murmured, tugging her closer and gently kissing her lips, “don’t cry, Princess.”

She sniffed and sighed as if annoyed with her own emotions. “I’m just always pushing you into shit you’re not ready for and I didn’t want to do that this time around. I wanted to be better.”

“Bulla,” he said seriously, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Let’s be honest, okay? We’re fighting a losing battle and we both know it. It’s only a matter of time before we break down and give in. We were literally  _ built _ to do this with each other. And the bond is already half there without the bite anyway - I’m sure you’ve felt it by now.”

She nodded. They could each sense each other’s energies at all times now, regardless of distance or if one of them tried to mask their ki. That had been the first sign of the bond the first time, and it was the same this time. 

“So don’t feel bad,” Goten added softly. He paused. “ _ I _ feel bad for denying you.”

She looked at him with surprise. “It’s just… so strange, because everything inside me feels like I  _ need _ you to do it. Like it’s the most important thing in the entire multiverse and I’ll die if you don’t.”

“.... We won’t actually die if we don’t, right?” Goten asked, suddenly concerned. 

“The research didn’t say anything about that,” Bulla shrugged. “I’m pretty sure it’s just my Saiyan blood being a drama queen but  _ Kami _ , it’s intense. I’m even dreaming about you biting me.”

He ran his fingers through her hair absently, soothing her as he thought it all over. “Well… like I said, it’s only a matter of time before I can’t stop myself anymore. I barely can now.”

She nodded. “Maybe it’s just time to face the music.”

Goten nodded back, even if the idea was terrifying on multiple levels. “Yeah. I think we need to figure out a plan.”

Bulla let out a yawn and laid her head on his shoulder. “Tomorrow. Or, well, probably the day after since the party’s tomorrow. We’ll figure it out later. I’m exhausted.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead and smirked. “Yeah, me too.”

It was easy to put off what would surely be one of the most fateful conversations of his life, the one where they would determine how to go public with their relationship and how they would deal with the fallout. As much as Goten wanted Bulla all to himself and wanted her as his mate, the idea of losing Trunks as a result made his heart want to shatter in half. And he had a hard time imagining any other outcome but losing Trunks. 

Then again, Vegeta might not let him live long enough to lose anything, so at least there was that not-really-silver lining. 

Regardless, when evening rolled around the next day, Goten put on a dark blue suit without a tie and headed to Capsule Corp. There was a pit of anxiety in his gut that he did a very poor job of ignoring as he flew across the city, as if he just knew that this night wasn’t going to end well, but he figured he was just being understandably nervous. This would be the first time he faced both Vegeta and Trunks while actively in a sexual relationship with Bulla, plus Bulma and Goku who were in the know would also be there. 

Secret, mildly taboo relationships weren’t nearly as glamorous as they made them look in books and movies, Goten thought as he touched down on the CC grounds. 

As usual, the virtually ageless Bulma had gone all out to celebrate her birthday. The entire property was already bustling and full of gourmet catered food, games, and even a few decently sized  _ rollercoasters _ that a few guests were already taking advantage of. Goten smiled and shook his head, making a mental note to definitely get a turn on the rides as he looked around too see who had and hadn’t yet arrived. 

Incidentally, it was Bulma herself that he saw first. Dressed in a long, luxurious violet-hued gown and a white faux fur shawl tossed around her shoulders, Bulma waved to him and hurried over toting a glass of champagne and looking no older than she had the day she’d given birth to Bulla. 

“You made it!” she exclaimed happily, giving him a quick one-armed hug. “Ooh, and you got dressed up, too! You look dashing, Goten.”

“Thanks, Bulma,” he blushed, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. “You look amazing. And happy birthday!”

“Aw, thanks,” she winked. “You know, I wasn’t sure if you’d come or not but I’m glad you did. Bulla will be happy to see you.”

Goten went fiery red and looked around in sudden paranoia. “ _ Bulma, don’t say that so loud _ .”

She giggled and patted him on the arm. “Sorry, sorry. She told me you two were back together, but she didn’t really have to. She’s been in such a good mood lately I figured you  _ had _ to be the reason.”

Goten shifted on his feet. He was so deeply uncomfortable with the conversation it was painful but he couldn’t exactly be rude and cut it short. “Oh. Well, uh…”

“A word of advice though,” she added quietly and more seriously. “The longer you two keep this a secret, the harder it’s gonna be for Trunks to forgive you.”

Goten froze, his eyes widening fractionally. “I -“

“You’re his lifelong best friend and she’s his baby sister,” she pointed out. “You’re the two people he loves most in the world. I understand why you’ve kept it hush hush - I do - but you can’t hide it from him forever.”

Goten gulped. “Shouldn’t… shouldn’t Vegeta be the one I’m worried about?”

“You should probably worry about them both,” Bulma admitted with a shrug. “But they both value honesty, you know. So the sooner you come clean, the better.”

Goten looked down, feeling a horrible wave of shame wash over him. He hated feeling like this and hated thinking of the potential consequences to his actions, which was why he chose to live in denial most of the time. But it was quickly becoming clear that the time for that was running out. 

“But anyway,” Bulma chirped, suddenly quite chipper again. “Now’s not the time to worry about all of that. Go drink and eat and have fun! Thanks for coming, sweetie.”

Goten watched as Bulma sashayed away, off to greet the latest newly arrived guests, and Goten blinked at how quickly the tones in that conversation had shifted. He didn’t have much time to think on it, however, before the wind was knocked out of him suddenly by a certain raven-haired niece of his barreling into his back and jumping on him with her arms wrapped around his neck in a headlock. 

“Gah, what the f-“

“Gotcha, Uncle Goten!” Pan exclaimed, mussing up Goten’s immaculately styled hair before hopping back down on her feet with a self-satisfied grin. 

“Hey, not the hair!” Goten frowned, reaching up to fix it before leveling a glare at Pan. “You’re a brat, you know that?”

“So I’ve been told,” she shrugged, and that was when Goten gave her a quick once-over and paused in surprise. 

“Wow, Pan, you actually look like a lady.” He made a face and shuddered. “I don’t like it.”

Pan slugged him in the shoulder, expression almost identical to Chi-Chi’s when she was furious. “Hey, shut up! I’m 21 now, you know. I’m  _ supposed _ to look like a woman.”

Goten cringed. “Gohan let you leave the house like that?”

“I have my own place, you jerk! And what do you even mean?! This is just jeans and a top!” she pointed out, gesturing to her outfit consisting of black fitted jeans, combat boots and a flowy burnt orange crop top. 

“Yeah, just weird though because I normally see you in gis and baggy stuff,” Goten shrugged. “This isn’t your usual style so I guess it’s a little jarring. Sorry.”

“Yeah, well, Bulla picked out this outfit,” Pan sniffed, crossing her arms and blushing faintly. “And the makeup.”

“Should have known,” he chuckled, pretending not to jolt a little at the mere mention of Bulla’s name.  _ Get it together, man. _ “Trying to land a hot new date tonight?”

She scoffed. “Maybe I just wanna look hot for me, ever think of that?”

He wrinkled his nose. “Ugh. Stop using words like  _ hot _ in reference to yourself. It’s giving me the heebie jeebies.”

“Oh I’ll give you  _ something _ ,” she growled before launching herself at him, and Goten laughed and blocked her as Gohan and Videl approached. 

“Pan,” Videl sighed, “no brawling at birthday parties, please.”

Pan balked but backed off anyway, blowing a few wayward strands of hair out of her eyes. “Killjoy.”

“Hey little bro,” Gohan greeted Goten with a smile. “I see you’ve already managed to rile up my daughter.”

“To be fair, all I have to do is just exist in her presence and it pisses her off,” Goten grinned, which earned him another punch in the shoulder from the girl in question. 

“Oh, Kami,” Videl rolled her eyes, taking Pan’s hand and leading her away. “Let’s go say hi to Bulma before you get your nice new outfit all ripped up from fighting everyone who looks at you the wrong way.”

As the ladies walked away, Goten watched Gohan sigh and put his hands in his pockets. “Crazy how grown up she is, isn’t it? Seems like just yesterday she was a baby who could barely talk.”

“Super crazy,” Goten agreed. 

“I guess she’ll always be a baby to me. Bulla too. Hard to believe they’re both grown women now.”

Goten swallowed, focusing so hard on staying nonchalant that he was fairly sure he was starting to look constipated. “Yeah.”

“Then again,” Gohan chuckled, nudging Goten’s shoulder with his own, “you’ll always be a baby to me, too.”

“Oh, fuck off,” Goten rolled his eyes playfully. “Not my fault I’m not an old man like you. How old are you now? 45?”

“44,” Gohan muttered. “And shut up.”

Goten chuckled and grabbed two glasses of champagne from a server that passed by, handing one to Gohan. “How old do you think Bulma is?”

Gohan took a breath, glancing over to said birthday girl who was currently throwing her head back and laughing at something Android 18 was telling her. “Well… she was about 30 when she had Trunks, and he’s 33 now, right? So…”

“Damn,” Goten remarked. “And yet she doesn’t look like she’s aged a day since I was a kid. Think she’s got a secret stash of unicorn blood or something? Fountain of youth?”

“Nah,” Gohan chuckled. “Why would she need any of that when she’s got the dragon radar?”

Goten’s eyes widened. “ _ Ohhh _ . Right, Shenron. Makes sense.”

“I don’t blame her. Videl’s not too crazy about the idea of me looking young until I’m 80 while she ages normally. I’m sure whoever you end up settling down with will have the same issue with you.”

_ Maybe not, _ Goten mused. After all, he and Bulla would both retain their youth well into their old age. “Yeah.”

“Speaking of that, are you seeing anyone ser-“

“ _ Think fast!” _

Goten let out a yelp and hit the ground face first, champagne flute flying out of his hand in the process, as Trunks appeared out of nowhere and tackled him. “Goddammit,” Goten grumbled from beneath him, “why is everyone sneaking up on me and attacking me?!”

“‘Cause you’re an easy target,” Trunks grinned before getting off of him and extending a hand to help him up. Goten grumbled but took the hand anyway, and Trunks nodded towards Gohan. “Hey, Gohan.”

“Trunks,” Gohan nodded, amused. “I see some things never change.”

Goten dusted off his clothes and tried to fix his hair, still glaring at Trunks who replied with, “What can I say, sometimes I just see Ten with his dumb face and spiky hair and I just have to fuck him up.”

“You just wait,” Goten warned. “I’ll get you back when you least expect it.”

“Actually,” Trunks grinned, throwing an arm around Goten’s shoulder, “I’ve got a way to make it up to you.”

Goten raised a brow. “Finally gonna give me that blow job I know you can’t stop thinking about?”

Gohan groaned. “On that note, I’ll go catch up with Pan and Videl.”

“Even better,” Trunks smirked, tossing Gohan a wave as an afterthought. “Your two o’clock. Check it out.”

Goten’s eyes searched out the area curiously and landed quickly on two tall, beautiful brunettes who appeared to be identical. Even their dresses were the same, except one wore blue and the other wore black. They noticed Goten and Trunks looking their way and smiled and waved to them. 

Trunks waved back while Goten blinked. “Uh…”

“I found us some  _ twins _ , Ten,” Trunks crowed as if it was one of the best accomplishments of his life. “At first I was just gonna fuck them both myself but then I remembered how you said you’ve been having a dry spell and I thought hey, this is perfect. I’ll invite them to the party and you can see which one you vibe with and she’ll be all yours.”

Goten’s heart dropped. In the past, this would have been a no brainer. In fact, he probably would have suggested they just make a foursome out of it and take turns with both women, which Trunks would have probably gone along with - maybe, anyway - but this time, Goten felt instantly sick. 

There was no way that he could tell Trunks no thanks without him knowing something major was up, but he didn’t really have a choice, did he? He definitely wasn’t about to play along and chat up one of the women and hook up just to maintain appearances. He would never,  _ ever _ do that to his mate. 

“Goten? Something wrong?”

Goten’s eyes flashed up to find Trunks staring at him with a touch of concern. Goten quickly shook his head. “No, no, it’s fine. It’s just - I appreciate the thought, but I’ll pass. You can have them both.”

Trunks dropped his arm and took a step back, now staring at Goten as if he’d suddenly grown two heads. “What?”

Goten fought a blush creeping up his neck and shrugged. “Yeah, I’m just… not in the mood.”

“Okay, Goten, what the hell,” Trunks replied flatly, piercing blue eyes highly suspicious. “What’s going on with you? Are you okay? You know you can talk to me if you’re depressed or something, right?”

“Of course, yeah, I’m not depressed,” Goten insisted. “It’s nothing like that.”

“Then what is it? Are you seeing someone new? Is it serious? Is that why you don’t want a hookup?”

_ Fucking fuck fuck _ . “I - no.”

“So you’re just… voluntarily celibate?”

“... Yeah, I guess.”

Trunks narrowed his eyes. “Bullshit. You’re lying to me.”

Goten’s inner alarm bells began to rang, and panic began to bloom in his chest. “N-no I’m not.”

“Goten, I know you better than anyone in the entire fucking universe and I know when you’re hiding something from me. Just fucking spill it and get it over with.”

Goten wanted to die. He wanted an asteroid to fall from space and strike him directly in the face and kill him instantly to save him from this horrible, terrible, awful moment in time. “Uh…”

Trunks’ eyes only narrowed further. “ _ Goten _ .”

Goten could feel a bead of sweat falling from his brow. “I -“

“Oh, Trunksie!” Bulma sing-songed, flitting over to them and kissing her son’s cheek before enveloping him in a too-tight hug. “There you are, I was wondering where you’d run off to! Come here, I want you to meet someone.”

“Mom, not right now, I’m in the middle of s-“

Bulma’s features suddenly shifted from sweet as pie to murderous. “It’s my birthday and you’re gonna do exactly what I say, kid!”

“But -“

“No buts!” she semi-screeched, and Trunks cowed slightly as if he were still a small child. “I get one day a year where everyone has to do as I say and goddammit, nobody’s exempt, got it?”

“... Fine.” Trunks quickly pointed at Goten. “We’re not done here.” Then he let Bulma drag him off to meet whoever it was she was so intent on, and Goten let out a breath so deep he felt a little dizzy by the time he managed to inhale again. 

He needed another drink. Something stronger. A  _ lot _ stronger. 

As he made his way to the bartender that Bulma had hired, he glanced over to his left and noticed Beerus and Whis stuffing their faces at a sushi bar. Beerus happened to glance back at Goten out of the corner of his eye, and Goten quickly looked away and kept walking. It was then that he realized just how fucked he really was. 

Beerus and Whis were like godparents to Bulla. Between them, Trunks, and Vegeta, Goten realized that not even Goku could protect him from certain death should they discover his secret and decide that he was dead meat. 

_ It just had to be her, didn’t it _ , he thought to himself as he gulped.  _ The woman with the scariest family on the planet and a literal god and angel as her mentors. I’m a fucking idiot. A dead idiot. _

Before he could spiral further, however, his parents materialized directly in front of him and he walked into the massive wall of muscle that was Goku. 

“Hey son!” Goku chirped, dressed in an actual suit for once and his arm around a similarly dressed up Chi-Chi. But Goku quickly paused and asked, “You okay? You look like you’re about to hurl.”

Goten waved him off. “I’m fine, just -“

“Oh no, Goku, you’re right,” Chi-Chi interjected, stepping forward and grabbing Goten’s face. “You look a little green. What’s wrong, honey? Are you sick?”

He gently pried her hands away and laughed nervously. “I’m fine, Mom, seriously. I just need some fresh air.”

Chi-Chi furrowed her brows. “You’re already outside.”

“... Fresher air,” Goten replied lamely. 

Goku looked from his son to his wife and appeared to make a decision. “Hey, Chi, why don’t you go on ahead and find Bulma? I’ll get Goten some, uh… fresher air.”

Chi-Chi sent Goku and Goten both a withering glare. “You know, I’m not stupid. I know you’re both hiding something and have been for awhile. I won’t make a scene right now since we’re at a party and it wouldn’t be proper, but you both better know that I won’t let you keep whatever it is from me for long.” And with that, she stomped away. 

Goten’s shoulders slumped. “Everyone knows I’m hiding something. Holy fuck, I’m so screwed.”

Goku patted his shoulder and offered a careful smile. “Hey, calm down. It’s all right. You want me to take you somewhere else? We can go spar if you want, or -“

“No,” Goten groaned, dragging a hand over his face. “That would just make me look more suspicious. Thank you, though. I think I’ll just have a drink or… five.”

Goku’s smile turned sad, and he squeezed Goten’s shoulder. “Let me know if you need anything, okay?” Goten nodded, and Goku leaned in closer and whispered, “By the way, where is she?”

Fighting off an instant blush, Goten whispered back, “Inside. Haven’t seen her yet.” It was true, but he’d felt her energy like an ever-burning beacon at the edge of his senses from the moment he’d arrived. In fact, thanks to their re-forming bond, he felt her  _ all _ the time regardless of distance or anything else. 

“Okay. Just… try to act natural, I guess.”

Goten took a breath. “Yeah.”

He had a bad feeling about this. He could only hope it was his anxiety talking and not a real, legitimate gut feeling that he’d do well to listen to. 

—

Trunks knew something was off. Something significant. Something he had a feeling he’d been missing for some time now. He couldn’t explain it, but his instincts rarely lied. 

In truth, he’d known that Goten hadn’t been quite himself for a long time now. But Trunks was an incredibly, overwhelmingly busy man and he just didn’t have a lot of free time to spend speculating on what it might be. Besides, Goten was a grownup and he’d always been able to take care of himself. Trunks couldn’t really do much more besides ask if he was all right and offer help if he wasn’t, and he’d already done those things. 

But he was officially done sitting back and letting things be. Goten had never been one to hide a damn thing from Trunks, and the fact that he suddenly was now made Trunks feel like his entire world was slightly off kilter. 

And if that sounded dramatic, Trunks didn’t care. He and Goten were two halves of a whole and had been since birth. He had never known a world where Goten wasn’t his, for lack of a better term, platonic soulmate. 

He froze, eyes darting to where Goten stood at the bar waiting for a drink. Could it be… perhaps… that Goten…

_ No _ , Trunks thought to himself, looking away. Goten liked to joke around and yeah, there had been a few times when they were teenagers that he’d hit on Trunks, but that was just Goten. He was flirty and he loved sex and Trunks had always known he wouldn’t have minded having it with him, but Goten had always respected Trunks’ lack of mutual interest. 

And it wasn’t like Trunks had never thought about it himself, mind you. He’d thought more than once over the years how fucking easy and perfect life would be if him and Goten just settled down together and got married, but no matter how many times he tried to wrap his mind around the idea, Trunks was just… tragically straight. And he was quite certain he couldn’t make an exception even for Goten. He just liked the softness of women too much and wasn’t interested in exploring anything else. 

He’d never second guessed Goten understanding that and being perfectly fine with it. After all, there had never been any drama about it at any point, and Goten hadn’t shown any signs of being secretly in love with Trunks. 

…. Potentially until now, however. 

It would make sense, Trunks thought. It would explain Goten’s sudden celibacy and refusal to tell Trunks what was going on. The thought made Trunks feel slightly sick - not because the idea of Goten having feelings for him was sickening, but because the idea of potentially losing him over a lack of ability to reciprocate said feelings was horrifying. How could he live without Goten? What even was a life without his best friend? 

Trunks was nursing a beer and leaning against a palm tree as he contemplated all of these things, watching Goten without him noticing. It was as his mind raced that his sister walked out of the house to join the party at last, their father trailing behind her. 

Trunks glanced at them from the corner of his eyes. Bulla had helped to convince Vegeta to wear a suit for the party, which he was clearly not very pleased about, and she herself was dressed to impress in a long-sleeved black sequined minidress and sky-high heels. Trunks subconsciously gritted his teeth - he didn’t think he’d ever get used to her being all grown up and confident and  _ out there _ , but that was an issue for another time. For now, his attention and concern was still for his best friend. 

He didn’t expect the two things to intersect mere moments later. 

After five minutes or so of brief mingling, Bulla headed to the bar and sidled up next to Goten. Trunks watched them mostly absently as his thoughts continued to swirl in his head, at least until he saw Goten look up at his sister and visibly blush. 

Goten looked around as if to check if anyone was looking their way, and he still didn’t spot Trunks. He then looked Bulla up and down, and Trunks froze with his beer halfway to his mouth.  _ Oh hell no _ . That fucker was  _ not _ checking out his baby sister. He was so gonna kick his ass later. 

Bulla leaned against the bar, sticking her ass out entirely on purpose to (successfully) draw Goten’s gaze, and Trunks groaned and rolled his eyes. He knew full well that she’d had a crush on Goten literally forever but  _ ugh, give it a rest already _ . Maybe he’d kick  _ her _ ass later too. 

Yeah right. As if he even could. She had become a literal goddess while he’d been toiling away behind a desk at the family business, so. Yeah. 

As Trunks continued to spy on them, Goten and Bulla seemed to have a semi-serious chat while she waited for her drink. That was strange in itself, since they weren’t really friends. He doubted they even had each other’s numbers in their phones. And the chat was lasting longer than he’d have expected. 

Then, after Bulla got her drink and took a single sip, she set it back down on the bar and glanced around discreetly. Then she leaned in closer to Goten and apparently whispered something in his ear, and her hand brushed his thigh for just a fraction of a second - but it happened, and Trunks saw it. She then pulled away wearing a smug grin, and she left her drink at the bar as she sashayed away and headed back into the house. 

Goten was visibly flustered. He dragged his hand over his face and through his hair before throwing back the rest of his own drink in one gulp. Then he got up and headed the same way Bulla had only moments before. 

Trunks thought he  _ had _ to be hallucinating. There was no way that what he’d just seen had been real. It was just… it wasn’t possible. There had to be an innocent explanation, because surely -  _ surely _ \- Goten wasn’t fucking his baby sister behind his back. That… that  _ couldn’t _ be why he’d been acting so weird lately. It was unthinkable. Impossible. 

“Hey Trunks!” Pan suddenly chirped, appearing at Trunks’ side unexpectedly. He stared into space, not even acknowledging her. “I need you to give me your phone. I just got a new number so I need to put it in.”

He reached into his pocket and handed her the phone wordlessly. As she began saving her number under her existing contact, he started walking off towards the house in a daze. 

“Hey wait,” Pan called, “don’t you want your phone back? Are you okay?”

He didn’t answer. He didn’t even hear her. His entire world and existence had shrunk down to this one moment in time, and Beerus himself couldn’t have stopped him from marching into Capsule Corp and finding out the truth that he suddenly didn’t want to know. 

—

Goten was sure that he and Bulla had both lost their minds. There was no other explanation for what they were doing. 

Bulla had grabbed him by the collar once he’d met up with her inside and pulled him into a bathroom that she promptly locked. Then she was on him before he could protest, kissing him with such a hunger it was bewildering. It hadn’t even been 24 hours since they’d last fucked, but she was apparently starved for more. 

She slammed him to the wall, groaning against his lips, “You smell so fucking good, I can’t take it.”

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” Goten groaned, Bulla’s own scent making him lightheaded. “Everyone’s outside, everyone’s -“

“Just keep your ki down,” she told him, stealing another deep kiss. “I won’t take long. I just want your cock in my mouth.”

Goten whimpered, his head hitting the wall as she dropped to her knees. With his last functioning brain cell he wondered what was wrong with them and why they were being so reckless, if maybe it was a result of their bond being unsealed and their instincts raging and pushing them closer and closer together to try to finally close the deal. 

But that last brain cell bit the dust the second Bulla’s mouth wrapped around him. He groaned and buried his fingers in her hair, all rational thought leaving him as pleasure coursed through his veins instead. 

“Mm,” she moaned softly after bobbing her head a few times, pulling off to work the tip with her tongue. “You taste so good.”

He looked down and watched her lick up the pre-come already leaking from him, brushing her hair out of her face as he murmured lowly, “Little cockslut for me, aren’t you, Princess?”

She looked up at him and grinned devilishly. “Only for you.”

“That’s right.” He watched her swallow him back down, and his fingers gripped her hair tightly but gently as he gave a little thrust. She took it with an enthusiastic moan, and he breathed, “Gonna let me fuck that pretty face, baby?”

She nodded as much as she could in her current position, and Goten’s grip on her hair tightened as he began to rock into her mouth. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he might as well have been in his apartment completely alone and secure for all he cared. Both of them were wrapped up in their own little world and completely oblivious to the fluctuating energy signature right there on the other side of the bathroom door. 

—

Trunks stared at the door, eyes wide and face pale, his blood having run cold a few moments ago when he’d first heard the two distinct voices inside the bathroom. Their energies were masked but it was irrelevant when they were taking no other precautions like, for example, being fucking quiet. 

_ Just keep your ki down, I won’t take long. I just want your cock in my mouth.  _

_ Little cockslut for me, aren’t you, Princess?  _

_ Only for you. _

The words rattled around Trunks’ head as he grappled with the reality of what was happening. He hadn’t often had the displeasure of watching his whole world crash down around him but that was exactly what was happening now, and he was in a state of deep shock. 

So this was what Goten had been hiding from him. And to think that Trunks had suspected it was  _ himself _ that Goten had feelings for. No, it was his fucking little sister whose goddamn diapers Goten had once changed. 

Had Goten just been waiting for her to be legal this whole time, counting down the days? Was his best friend and soulmate a fucking monster and he’d just never noticed? 

Didn’t matter really, he supposed, because Goten was about to fucking die. 

Trunks kicked the door open with a burst of sudden and massive power. Fueled by sheer rage, he ascended straight to Super Saiyan 3 and watched through teal eyes as Goten and Bulla sprang apart from each other, caught in the act. 

He didn’t even look at his sister. He’d deal with her later. Instead he fixed his murderous glare on his supposed best friend, who had managed to yank his pants up and was now staring back at Trunks with eyes full of pure fear and panic. 

—

“Trunks,” Bulla warned lowly, getting to her feet and straightening out her dress. “Don’t you dare touch him.”

Trunks ignored her, and she didn’t appreciate it. He and Goten were staring each other down wordlessly, and she wasn’t stupid - she knew how this was gonna end. She could also see how absolutely devastated Goten already was, and it made everything within her ache. 

He’d always had far more to lose than she did. Now, it seemed, the bill had finally come due. 

But Bulla wasn’t about to stand there and watch Trunks act like a child and attack Goten over it. 

“Trunks,” she said again, calmly. “I mean it.”

Instead of listening, Trunks let out an angry roar and barreled mercilessly into Goten, sending them both flying through the wall and several other walls until they’d blown out of the building entirely and landed right in the middle of the party outside. Bulla ascended to Super Saiyan God, the fiery red aura overtaking her in an instant, and then she took off after them. 

She found Goten on his back on the ground outside, taking punch after punch from Trunks and making no move to defend himself. Around them were gasps and shouts of surprise, and their families were already gathering around to find out what the hell was going on. 

Bulla shouted Trunks’ name and sent a ki blast directly into his side, sending him flying off of Goten. She then landed in front of her injured mate - his nose was already broken and he was bleeding from several places on his face - and held out her palm towards Trunks, another blast at the ready. 

Trunks got back up to his feet and growled at her. “Get away from that bastard.”

She shook her head. “Take another step and I’ll break every bone in your body.”

Trunks faltered, staring at her in shock. “Bulla, I’m your  _ brother _ .”

She didn’t flinch. “And he’s my mate.”

Trunks blinked, sheer confusion evident in his eyes. Regardless, he fell back into a fighting stance and prepared to rush her. 

That was when a gruff voice rang out and made both fighters freeze. 

“ _ That’s enough.” _

Vegeta suddenly materialized between his two children, and Bulla dropped her hand and gulped. Trunks, she could handle, but Vegeta…  _ his _ reaction was the one she’d always worried more about. 

Trunks powered down to his base form, and Bulla did the same. “Dad,” Trunks shouted, gesturing to Goten as he struggled to sit up behind Bulla, “that fucking bastard has been -“

“Trunks!” Bulla cut him off, going red. “Everyone we know is right here watching us!”

“Like I give a shit,” Trunks hissed. 

Vegeta growled. “I  _ said _ that’s enough. Both of you.”

Trunks and Bulla each fell silent. Around them, Goku and Chi-Chi rushed to the scene flanked by Bulma and Gohan. Chi-Chi let out a cry of concern and knelt down to check on Goten’s injuries, and as the silence stretched on, Pan and Videl joined the confused onlookers. 

Finally, Vegeta let out a sigh, his eyes closed and arms crossed. “I’m disappointed in you.”

Bulla’s heart sank. “Papa, I -“

“Not you,” he quickly clarified, opening his eyes and shooting Trunks a glare. 

Trunks’ eyes bulged. “ _ Me _ ?!”

“Making a spectacle of our family at your mother’s birthday celebration,” Vegeta began. “And for what? Do you really mean to tell me that you didn’t know?”

All three half-Saiyans’ jaws hit the ground. Trunks sputtered, “What do you mean? Are you saying you… knew?”

Vegeta scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Of course I did. I’ve known from the beginning.”

Bulla gasped audibly. She turned her head and stared at Bulma in shock, then at Goten who seemed to be in a complete daze before turning back to her father. 

Vegeta looked around at the crowd still growing around them, and he growled threateningly before bellowing, “We are not the evening’s entertainment. Anyone who isn’t in our families can get the hell out of my face or face my wrath.”

Unsurprisingly, the guests listened. But all the present members of each Saiyan family remained, plus a visibly concerned Piccolo who had come to stand next to a shell shocked Gohan. Beerus and Whis continued stuffing their faces some feet away, but they were both enthralled by the drama unfolding before them. 

“If you knew,” Trunks seethed, “why didn’t you stop it?”

Vegeta shot his son a withering look. “You are a Saiyan Prince, boy, and yet you know nothing of what is happening here, do you?”

“Yeah, my best friend has been fucking my little sister behind my back,” Trunks spat. “What does that have to do with Saiyan anything?”

Vegeta’s jaw tightened. “Clearly I’ve failed both of you. What’s  _ happening here _ is a sacred Saiyan tradition that cannot and  _ should not  _ be stopped nor interfered with.”

Goku took a step forward. “Vegeta, do you really think this is the time or place for -“

“Shut it, clown,” Vegeta snapped back. “I’ve stood back and stayed silent long enough.”

Trunks looked back and forth between Vegeta and Goku, clearly at an utter loss. “Dad, can you just get to the point?”

“Bulla and Goten are mates,” Vegeta said simply. “They have been since the days they were born and they always will be. Nothing can change this.” He paused, looking Bulla in the eye. “Not even Shenron.”

Bulla’s heart sank all over again. He truly knew  _ everything _ . He had known all this time and yet he’d never said a word to her. 

“Mates?” Chi-Chi repeated. “What does that mean?”

When Vegeta appeared even more irritated at the prospect of explaining, Bulla decided to do so for him. “It means… we’re kind of like soulmates, in a Saiyan sense. My blood and ki calls to his and vice versa. Even our scents. It was a rare thing on Planet Vegeta, but it happened in both of our families - with Goku’s parents and my father’s parents. And now it’s happening with us.”

Gohan blinked, looking down. “My research - I remember this. The mating bond and ritual. This is… happening to the two of you?”

“Kami,” Chi-Chi gasped, eyes wide. “How long have you two known about this?”

Bulla looked away, unable to look anyone in the eyes right now. Especially her father’s. “By now… about 8 months or so.”

Trunks made an indignant noise. “8 fucking months, huh? You’re both some real lying pieces of shit, you know that?”

Goten flinched but Bulla rolled her eyes. “Oh, give me a break, Trunks. This isn’t about you. Besides, you’re proving right now why we were right to hide it from you.”

“I wouldn’t have reacted like this if you’d just told me from the beginning!” Trunks shouted back. 

“Really?” Bulla scoffed. “You’re full of shit and you know it.”

Bulma sighed and spoke up for the first time. “Arguing like little kids will only make this worse. Listen, Trunks - what’s done is done at this point, and you’re completely justified in your feelings right now but the truth is that this has been a very complicated situation for  _ everyone _ and there’s never been any easy answers.”

Trunks looked at his mother, his face falling even more. “... How many of you knew?”

“That’s not important, sweetie,” Bulma replied. 

“Bullshit,” Trunks snapped. “You know what? You can all go to hell.”

Vegeta and Bulma each yelled Trunks’ name to scold him, but he ignored them. 

“Especially you, Goten,” Trunks added, making eye contact with him for the first time since Bulla had broken up their fight. “I don’t ever want to see your fucking face again.”

Goten looked away, the tears stinging his eyes making them shine. Chi-Chi rubbed his back to comfort him. 

“You do realize he had no control over this,” Vegeta grumbled. “Their Saiyan blood made this happen. The boy might be an imbecile but resisting the bond is completely futile.”

Trunks turned his glare on his father. “I can’t believe that you’re defending him. He’s 32 years old, Dad. Bulla is barely 20.”

“Saiyans have never placed the same emphasis on age that humans do,” Vegeta shrugged. “And bonds do not activate until both parties are fully matured. Their ages are irrelevant.”

“Not to me,” Trunks replied simply. He looked around and let out a humorless laugh. “But I guess I’m the only one. That’s fine. I don’t give a shit what any of you say - this is fucked up and you all know it, deep down.”

And that was the point when Goten cracked and couldn’t stay silent anymore. “I tried, Trunks,” he muttered, his voice rough with emotion as a tear slid down his cheek. He kept his eyes on the ground. “I tried so hard. I was so ashamed and scared and -“

Trunks replied by powering up with a scream and charging towards Goten again. Bulla powered all the way up to Blue and prepared to defend Goten again, but this time Vegeta and Goku each beat her to it. They flashed in front of her, side by side and radiating immense power and bringing Trunks grinding to a halt. 

“You won’t touch them,” Vegeta said gravely. “You will respect our Saiyan heritage whether you like it or not. And you will respect our family.” Vegeta gritted his teeth. “Which will now always include that idiot.”

Bulla’s jaw dropped. She was pretty sure she heard Goten gasp too.

Trunks laughed, and it was a mean, angry sound. “Well, then fuck you, Dad, and fuck this entire family.” He then turned and blasted off into the sky. 

Bulla jerked forward, intending to follow him and drag him back but Vegeta stopped her with a shake of his head. “Let him go.”

She hesitated but nodded. She looked around and soon felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her, knowing that everyone present knew exactly what her and Goten had been getting up to for the last 8 months. It was… not a pleasant feeling, especially for someone as private as Bulla. 

She glanced at Pan, who looked almost as hurt as Trunks had. As soon as their eyes met Pan looked away, crossing her arms. Bulla frowned and wondered just how much damage control she was going to have to do to salvage all of her relationships. 

Behind her, Goten got to his feet with Chi-Chi’s insistent help. His face still bloodied and his own shame more than visible in his slouch and his eyes, he moved to Bulla’s side and found the bravery to look Vegeta in the eye and say, “Thank you, Vegeta.”

To absolutely nobody’s surprise, Vegeta bared his teeth and punched Goten square in the gut. Bulla let out a squeak of outrage as Goten doubled over in pain, but Vegeta ignored her. He also ignored Goku’s own question of “Hey, what the hell was that for, Vegeta?”

“You, boy, are a coward,” Vegeta seethed, staring a hole into Goten’s very soul. “My daughter deserves far better than an idiotic low-class weakling like you. If you had even a shred of pride you would have come to me back when this all began instead of being foolish enough to think you could hide it from me. Do you really think I couldn’t smell you on her? Or sense the changes in her ki?”

“Papa,” Bulla hissed, “don’t you think he’s been through enough for one day?”

“I’m sorry,” Goten managed, straightening up with a wince still on his face and looking Vegeta in the eye again. “You’re right. I was a coward. I didn’t know what was happening and I was afraid you and Trunks would want to kill me and I’d lose everything.”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses,” Vegeta sneered. “What I want to hear is how you plan to redeem yourself and earn my respect.”

Goten paused, looking down briefly before taking a deep breath. “Anything. Name it and I’ll do it.” He swallowed. “Sir.”

Vegeta raised a brow. “Fine. You will train with me and learn true strength. If you cannot protect and defend your mate, you are useless and do not deserve to call yourself a Saiyan.”

Goten nodded solemnly. “Yes sir.”

Bulma groaned. “Vegeta’s magic answer to everything -  _ training _ .”

“Woman, I am  _ not _ in the mood,” Vegeta retorted. “In fact, I think I’ve had about all I can take of this blasted  _ party _ .”

Vegeta then turned to stomp off back into the house, but Bulla wasn’t ready to let him go just yet. She left Goten’s side and ran up to him, calling out, “Papa, wait!”

Vegeta stopped and turned, then let out a startled  _ oomph _ when she threw her arms around him in a tight, enthusiastic hug. “I love you, Papa.”

Vegeta sighed tiredly but wrapped an arm around her. As she clung to him, he asked quietly enough for only her to hear, “Why didn’t you come to me, Eschalotte? I could have helped you.”

“I was scared,” she sniffed, always so easily reduced to tears when it came to her father. Then she pulled away and asked, “But if you knew, why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“I wanted you to follow your instincts,” he explained. “I didn’t want to influence you or pressure you. Mating bonds are sacred and not to be interfered with.”

“I didn’t even know what they were until I got on Mom’s private server and found Gohan’s research. That was how I figured out what was happening. It would have been so much easier if you’d have just told me.”

Vegeta clenched his jaw. “I never thought you would experience this, since you weren’t born with a tail. I supposed we both handled it as best as we could at the time.”

Bulla sighed, unable to argue with that. As much as she adored and even idolized her father, she knew how imperfect he was because she was the same and shared some of his flaws. Two peas in a pod, Bulma had always called them. 

Bulla glanced back towards Goten, who was still being fussed over by Chi-Chi and Goku. “I love him, Papa.”

Vegeta  _ hmphed _ . “You always have. I can’t begin to fathom why.”

Bulla playfully swatted his arm. “ _ Papa _ . Don’t be rude.” Vegeta rolled his eyes at that, and she asked, “Are you really gonna train him?”

“Of course! According to Kakarot he can’t even reach Super Saiyan 3 without fusion. He will have to do much better if he plans to be your protector.”

“I can protect myself,” Bulla replied haughtily. “Especially if I decide to become a Destroyer in the future.”

“That’s beside the point. If he doesn’t ascend further, he’ll be dead weight.”

She raised a brow. “And is Mom dead weight to you?”

Vegeta scowled. “That’s different.”

She grinned. “Is it?”

“You are insufferable. I’m going to bed.”

Bulla laughed and squeezed one more hug out of him. “Thank you, Papa. For everything.”

He paused, hugging her back. “Of course, Eschalotte.”

When he was gone, Bulla took a deep breath and turned around. Her breath caught when she found Pan standing in front of her. “Oh. Hi, Pan.”

Pan only frowned at her. “You’ve really been with my uncle for 8 months and never told me?”

“I - no,” Bulla shook her head. “We broke up like 7 months ago and only just worked things out. And it didn’t last very long the first time.”

“Bulla, I’m your best friend,” Pan said sadly. “But you always hide things from me. I never hide anything from you.”

“... I’m sorry,” Bulla said sincerely, her heart aching a little. “I never meant to hurt you, I swear, I just… I mean, I didn’t tell  _ anyone _ . I only told my mom and that was after everything had already happened.”

Pan looked down, none of those words seeming to do a damn thing. “I don’t know, Bulla. I don’t know how I feel about any of this. All I know is that our friendship has always been pretty… onesided.”

“Pan, no, don’t say that,” Bulla said in dismay, but Pan was already turning to walk away. 

“Sorry, I just need some time, I guess.” And with that, Pan took off and disappeared into the now-dark night. 

Bulla watched her go with a sad frown, feeling rather helpless. Between Pan and Trunks, she really didn’t have the faintest idea how to go about fixing what she and Goten had inadvertently broken. 

“It’s gonna be okay, honey,” Bulma said, wrapping an arm around Bulla’s shoulders. “It’s just a lot for people to take in. Gotta give them time.”

Bulla leaned into her mother’s embrace. “I think Trunks hates me now.”

“He doesn’t,” Bulma assured her. “Goten, maybe. But he’s in shock and he feels betrayed. Like I said, he just needs time.”

“I hope you’re right,” Bulla sighed. Her eyes drifted to Goten, who was taking a senzu bean from Goku who’d just teleported to and from Korin’s tower to retrieve it. After he ate it and his injuries vanished, he breathed a sigh of relief and glanced in Bulla’s direction, meeting her gaze. 

Bulla smiled at him, and he managed a weak one of his own in return. All the senzu beans in the world couldn’t heal the hurt that was written on his face as a result of the debacle with Trunks, and Bulla felt terribly guilty for it. Goten’s worst fears had finally been realized, and he might have just lost his best friend for good all because he couldn’t keep his hands off his little sister. 

_ I’m sorry _ , she mouthed to him. 

He shook his head faintly.  _ I’m not _ . 

—

Once inside the penthouse apartment he owned in uptown West City and used mostly for his one night stands, Trunks made a beeline for his well-stocked liquor cabinet and plucked out a full bottle of aged whiskey. He tossed the cap into the garbage and flopped down on one of his leather couches, fully prepared to drink the entire thing in one sitting and hopefully numb some of the mind-bending anger he couldn’t get under control. 

He drank down several large gulps of the smooth but bitter liquid and winced, wondering how the day had begun so normally and uneventful and ended like  _ this _ . He felt like he’d lost his sister and his best friend in the blink of an eye, never having felt a betrayal so sharp and painful as this one ever before in his life. 

He was in shock. All those months, all those times he and Goten had hung out, all those times Goten had acted like his usual dumbass self and harmlessly flirted with him and talked shit with him… the whole time Goten had been hiding the fact that he’d fucked Trunks’ little sister Kami only knew how many times (and was, apparently, bonded to her for life somehow). 

It was disgusting. Goten was disgusting. How could Bulma and Vegeta be okay with it? Were they insane? Had Trunks slipped and fallen into an alternate reality where everyone was fucking out of their minds?!

He brought the whiskey bottle back to his mouth only to freeze when he heard the doorbell rang. He paused to sense the energy of the unknown visitor, relaxing when he recognized the ki as Pan’s. He left the whiskey on his coffee table and got up, reaching the door in mere seconds. 

He opened it to find Pan a little teary-eyed on the other side but otherwise smiling. “Hey, Trunks.”

“Hey,” he muttered, brows furrowing as he wondered why she was there. 

“You, um,” she reached into her pocket and pulled out his phone. “You forgot this at the party.”

“Oh,” Trunks blinked, taking it from her. “Thanks. I didn’t even think about it.”

“Yeah,” she frowned, “I figured. Things got… kind of crazy.”

“Yeah. Thanks for bringing it back. You can come in if you want, have a drink.”

Pan blinked, apparently surprised by the offer. “Oh. Okay, yeah. Thanks.”

She followed him into the apartment, and Trunks skimmed his phone for new messages and emails as he made his way into the kitchen. Then he tossed it down on the counter and said, “I’ve got pretty much everything - wine, beer, liquor, you name it.”

“Beer’s fine,” Pan replied, lingering near the kitchen’s entrance. Trunks nodded and grabbed a cold beer from the fridge, then handed it to her before leaning back against the island behind him. “Thanks.”

He nodded. He looked her over as she took a sip, noting her somewhat tense body language. “So, did you know?”

She glanced at him and shook her head. “She never said a word to me.”

“I figured,” Trunks muttered. He glanced over to the bottle of whiskey on his coffee table but truth be told, he didn’t really want it anymore. He wasn’t sure what he wanted or what the hell would make him feel better. Maybe there wasn’t anything that could accomplish that. 

“I don’t know how your dad isn’t losing his mind,” Pan remarked. “Like… I would have expected him to kill my uncle on the spot.”

“Yeah,” Trunks agreed, dragging a hand through his hair. “I think everyone’s lost their fucking minds.”

Pan frowned at him. “I’m really sorry, Trunks. I can’t even imagine how you’re feeling right now.”

“Of everyone at that party,” Trunks replied with a tiny smile, “you’re the last one who should be apologizing to me.” She flushed and looked away, but he added, “I appreciate you thinking of me.”

Pan peeked up at him and smiled. “It’s nothing. You’re my friend and I care about you.”

He studied her for a moment, knowing that there was more to it than that. Pan had always harbored a crush on him, much like Bulla with Goten, but unlike  _ him _ , Trunks had never made a move on her. Doing so had never crossed his mind, what with the significant age gap between them and the fact that she was a dear friend. He liked sparring with her and hanging out, and it had never gone beyond that. Pan’s crush had never made anything weird or awkward - in fact, he felt more comfortable around her than almost anyone else in the world. 

She looked nice tonight, wearing more form-fitting clothes than usual. She had blossomed a lot in the last few years, her body as toned and muscular as ever but now with extra curves that hadn’t been there before. Trunks had truthfully never noticed until that night. And she smelled nice. 

He paused, discreetly sniffing the air. She smelled…  _ really _ nice, actually. 

“Do you wanna watch a movie or something?” Pan asked. “Or I could go, if you’d rather be alone.”

He shook his head. “You can stay.”

“Okay,” she smiled a little shyly, and he thought it was a cute look for her. Had he ever thought of her as cute before, besides when she’d been a baby?

And  _ that _ was when it hit him. The perfect, terrible, delicious way to get Goten back for what he’d done. The coldest revenge was standing right in front of him, wearing skin tight jeans and looking at him through dark eyes that had always admired him. 

_ If I was a fucking asshole _ , Trunks thought to himself,  _ I could fuck her right here and see how much Goten likes it when the tables are turned.  _

“So… what do you wanna do?” Pan asked, shifting a little nervously. 

Trunks tilted his head to the side, letting his eyes overtly roam the petite but powerful body before him. Then he looked back up to find her blushing hard with slightly widened eyes. “I don’t know,” he licked his lips. “You tell me.”

_ Who am I kidding, _ he thought.  _ I _ am  _ a fucking asshole. Might as well act like one.  _

“... Huh?”

He took a step closer, then one more, and then he was in her personal space. He leaned his hand on the wall beside her head, and he told her softly, “You look beautiful tonight, Pan.”

His words flustered her so much, it was kind of adorable. “Oh, I - really?”

He nodded, watching her squirm under his gaze and proximity. “You know I care about you too, right?”

“Yeah, of course,” she smiled, and her scent was growing stronger. What  _ was _ it? Some kind of new perfume that was somehow specifically designed to make his head spin? “Are you sure you’re okay? Are you drunk?”

“No,” he replied honestly. “I had a little whiskey before you came over but it wasn’t really what I wanted.”

She nodded, her eyes dropping down to his lips and back up again. “And what… what is it that you want?”

He reached up and touched a lock of her straight, shiny black hair, making her breath hitch with just that little touch. “I’m not sure, but… I think I’m starting to get an idea.”

She opened her mouth to reply, but he silenced her with a swift, firm kiss. 

Pan froze up under the unexpected kiss, but Trunks felt a surprising bolt of heat race down his spine. He kissed her again, and when he slid his hand into her hair to cradle her head, she started to gradually relax. The first time he felt her kiss him back, heat started gathering low in his gut, and he opened his eyes and broke away in surprise. 

When was the last time just a few tame kisses had made him feel like that?  _ Why _ had it made him feel like that? Did he really get off on revenge that much? 

“Trunks,” she whispered, trembling slightly, “what are you - we shouldn’t be doing this.”

“Tell me to stop,” he murmured back, suddenly very interested in how it would feel to do more with her. “And I will. But only if you really want me to.”

She blinked at him, biting her lip and clearly finding herself unsure how to respond. As he waited for her answer, he dipped his head down to breathe in that delicious scent wafting off of her neck. He shuddered as his senses became overwhelmed in an instant, his pants suddenly too tight. 

“ _ Trunks… _ ”

“You smell so good,” he marveled lowly, unable to stop himself from licking up the side of her neck and tasting her. She gasped, clutching his shoulders with a sudden desperation as he started kissing and sucking on the delicate flesh. He couldn’t get enough - had he known she smelled and tasted so good, this definitely wouldn’t have been the first time he’d done this. 

He kissed his way back up to her lips, and they collided in a fierce kiss that he felt all the way down to his toes. He plunged his tongue into her mouth and she welcomed the invasion, teasing it with her own, and his chest rumbled in a way that sounded almost like a purr - she was a good kisser. 

It would have been easy to get carried away and just take her right there against the wall, but Trunks forced himself to break the kiss and pant, “Tell me to stop, Pan.”

She shook her head, her dark eyes heavy with arousal. She pulled him close and kissed him again, long and hard, before murmuring against his lips, “I don’t want you to stop.”

“Then tell me what you want,” he breathed, hands sliding down to her hips. 

“I want… I want you to take me to bed,” she confessed, and the words sent a thrill through his veins. 

_ Fuck _ he was enjoying this way too much. 

“You’re sure?”

She chuckled and blushed. “I’m sure you can smell how sure I am.”

He grinned at her. Yeah, he  _ could _ smell how wet she was under those jeans, and  _ fuck _ she was gonna taste good.

He hooked his hands under her thighs and pulled her up effortlessly, then began carrying her off to bed. He was gonna fuck her until she screamed and then fuck her some more, give her the night of her goddamned life, and then he would wake up the next morning satisfied knowing that Goten would eventually find out and have just a little taste of what Trunks had felt. 

And he was gonna enjoy the  _ fuck _ out the rest of his night with Pan in the meantime. And he was gonna sure as hell make sure she did, too. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why do I always write non-future Trunks as such a raging dick 😂 I’m sorry Trunks, I love you I swear lol


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pan and Bulla have something new in common, and Vegeta’s perpetual headache worsens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for your feedback on the last chapter! I was a little nervous how the Trunks/Pan thing would go over so I’m relieved that nobody seemed too put off by it 😅 this new chapter is kinda Trunks/Pan heavy but the next one after this will be back to primarily focusing on Goten and Bulla with Trupan on the side. Just gotta deal with the fallout in this chapter first 😂 hope you guys like and thank you all again!! You’re all amazing!!! 💜

The morning after Bulma’s fateful birthday party, Bulla didn’t awake to a rush of memories and the surreal realization that the night’s events had indeed been real and not a bizarre dream. No, instead she awoke blearily to an insistent, panicked-sounding knock at her balcony doors. 

“The hell,” Bulla grumbled, feeling like she’d barely slept all night - because she hadn’t - and blinking as she sat up and peered towards the noise. If it was Goten already up and looking for her to finish the blow job she’d started the night before, she was gonna launch him into the sun. 

She got up and quickly made her way to the door, tossing aside the curtains shielding it and freezing when she saw Pan on the other side. Their eyes met, and Bulla could see that her best friend was in tears. She was also still in the same clothes she’d worn to the party. 

Bulla threw the door open and gently pulled Pan inside. “Are you okay, Pan? What happened?”

Instead of answering, Pan let out a horrible broken sob and threw herself into Bulla’s arms. Bulla slowly embraced her back, more than a little bewildered, and as Pan soaked the sleeve of Bulla’s shirt, she carefully steered them towards her bed. On the way, Bulla noticed with a wrinkle of her nose that Pan absolutely  _ reeked _ of Trunks. Weird. 

“Here, sit down,” Bulla muttered, gently prying Pan off of her and sitting down next to her on the side of the bed. She grabbed a box of tissues from her nightstand and offered it to Pan before waiting for her to catch her breath. Once Pan wasn’t sobbing quite so heavily anymore, Bulla furrowed her brows and quietly asked, “Pan, are you hurt? What happened?”

“I’m not hurt,” Pan sniffled, clutching a handful of the tissues. “I think. I don’t know.” Her face began to crumple again, but Bulla grabbed her shoulder and shook her gently to refocus her. 

“Talk to me, Pan.”

“O-okay,” Pan sighed, taking a deep breath and trying to calm down enough to speak coherently. It took her a moment or two, but she eventually got there. ”I… after the party last night, I went to Trunks’ apartment to bring him his phone. He’d left it behind when he… flew off.”

Bulla furrowed her brows. She had a  _ bad _ feeling about where this was going. 

“After I gave it to him he invited me in for a drink, and… Kami, I don’t even know how it happened,” Pan swallowed hard, her pale face blushing. “One minute everything was normal and the next he…”

Bulla’s eyes widened. “Did he…  _ attack _ you?” 

Pan shook her head, reluctantly meeting Bulla’s gaze. “No, he… seduced me.”

Bulla blinked. Those words initially made zero sense, as if they didn’t even work together in a sentence. “What?”

Pan’s face went even redder and she looked away. “It happened so fast. I didn’t even - I couldn’t think. I can barely think around him as it is, let alone when he’s suddenly kissing me and telling me how good I smell.”

Bulla was frozen where she sat.  _ How good she smelled _ ? 

“It was so weird and it came out of nowhere but I just… it was amazing. He was so… rough and  _ loud _ and holy crap, his  _ tongue _ -“

“Ugh, Pan, gross,” Bulla groaned, making a face and suppressing a shudder. 

“Sorry, sorry,” Pan quickly apologized, the poor girl likely blushing down to her toes by that point. 

“Okay, so you and my brother fucked,” Bulla surmised, still grimacing slightly. “But that doesn’t explain why you’re a mess.”

Pan’s face fell. “Well, I… we fell asleep together and I thought everything was fine. But when we woke up he looked at me and… it all just went to hell. He couldn’t look me in the eye and barely said a word to me, just got up and threw my clothes at me and locked himself in the bathroom.”

Bulla sighed. What the hell was her brother even thinking? And since when was he even interested in Pan like that, even a little bit? 

“So I got dressed and waited for him to come out, and when he did he…”

Bulla reached out and took one of Pan’s hands. “What did he do?”

The tears began to flow anew. “... He told me it was all a mistake and that he was just… just trying to get Goten back for sleeping with you.”

Bulla’s jaw dropped. Unbeknownst to her, her ki began to crackle and rise. “He said that?”

Pan choked back a sob. “He said, quote, ‘I only fucked you to get revenge on Goten. I’m not into you like that and you know it.’”

Bulla reared back, truly shocked. Her brother had always had a jerk streak in him, and he was definitely a dumbass despite his high IQ, but he’d never been deliberately cruel.  _ Especially _ never to Pan. He’d always loved her like she was family and protected her, helped train her, and had her back when she needed it. They were a hell of a lot closer friends than Bulla had ever been with Goten. 

“Bulla,” Pan’s small voice cut through her thoughts, “calm down. The walls are shaking.”

Bulla blinked and lowered her ki, not even realizing she’d raised it to begin with. “Shit.”

“I just,” Pan muttered, rubbing at her eyes, “I don’t know what to think. He hurt me so bad, but… how could he have kissed me the way that he did and… said the things he did, and do everything that he did to me, but  _ not _ have actually wanted to do it? It felt so real when it was happening. I thought he really wanted me.”

As Pan tried to work it all out and make sense of the previous night, she started rubbing absently at the curve between her neck and shoulder, and Bulla’s eyes narrowed at the motion. Her hand shot out and gently gripped Pan’s wrist, pulling it away as Bulla’s other hand moved aside the collar of her shirt. 

For a long moment, Bulla stared and wished that she was only imagining what she saw. But no matter how long she tried to convince herself otherwise, there it remained - a clear, undeniable bite mark. One that Bulla would recognize anywhere. 

“... He bit you.”

“Huh? Oh,” Pan blinked, glancing down at the mark and shrugging. “I didn’t mind it. Actually, I really liked it.”

“No, Pan,” Bulla said seriously, looking Pan in the eye, “he  _ bit _ you. He mated you.”

Pan went pale. “... What?”

“This is what happened with me and Goten,” Bulla replied. “You left last night before I could explain it to you more, but… this is exactly how it happened with us. We were sleeping together… a lot… and one time he bit me and sealed the bond. Neither of us knew what was happening or what we did.”

Pan appeared both terrified and completely lost. “I… you mean the bond your dad was talking about?”

Bulla nodded. “Pan, this is… huge. You can’t just mate with someone willy nilly. It means you and Trunks are mates. He didn’t create the bond, he just sealed it. It was already there.” When Pan continued to stare at her in clear panic, Bulla asked, “Does he smell good to you? Like really, really good, better than anything else on Earth, so good you want to die?”

Pan gulped. “Yeah.”

“How long has he smelled like that?”

“I… a year, maybe two? I think?”

“And right now, can you feel his energy without even trying? Is it like a giant beacon you can’t ignore?”

Pan paused. “Yeah, but -“

“I can barely feel his energy right now,” Bulla noted. “He’s probably masking it. These are all bond things, Pan. You’re bonded. You’re mates. Tell me - when he gave you that bite, it wasn’t an ordinary love bite, was it? It was intense and weird and it felt amazing, right?”

Pan’s eyes were already unfocused as she drifted back to the strange but incredible memory. 

_ “Harder, Trunks,” Pan demanded, on her hands and knees on the bed while Trunks slammed into her from behind. She’d lost count of how many times she’d come and Trunks already had once in her mouth, but neither of them were finished just yet. Pan was going to soak up every bit of this unexpected piece of absolute heaven while she still could.  _

_ His hands on her hips were deliciously bruising, his voice breathless and rough as he chuckled, “Knew you’d like it rough. So fucking hot.” An open palm smacked hard across her ass, and Pan cried out in bliss as his thrusts grew deeper and harder.  _

_ He filled her up so well, so perfectly, hit all the places within her that made her entire body light up with pleasure. He didn’t have to hold back with her like he did with his other, fully human lovers, and neither did she. They could let loose with each other entirely, and it was intoxicatingly freeing.  _

_ He fucked her good and hard until he sent her over the edge again, spasming around him as she cried out and let herself fall forward on the bed with her face buried in Trunks’ pillow. He didn’t give her any time to catch her breath before he grabbed her and flipped her on her back, making himself at home between her legs and thrusting in deeply, groaning at how warm and utterly  _ drenched _ she was.  _

_ Trunks was getting closer and kissing her sloppily and passionately as she clung to him and rocked with him, wanting his end to feel as good as hers had. When he needed air he broke away and buried his nose in the curve of her neck, and she felt him inhale and groan before licking the same spot he’d been seemingly enamored with all night.  _

_ “So good,” he groaned, nibbling at her skin and panting against it. “Fuck, you smell so good. Taste so good. Fuck, Pan…” _

_ Hearing her name fall from his lips in such a heated, wrecked way made her arousal surge all over again. She rocked with him harder, sliding one hand into his silky hair while the other scratched down his back, making him purr at the slight pain.  _

_ Then he lifted his head, brushing her dark bangs from her forehead as he looked into her eyes briefly before kissing her. His tongue hungrily played with hers, his teeth pulling at her lower lip when he pulled away and groaned, “Come one more time for me, Pan. Come with me.” _

_ He simply felt too good for her to not obey him. As he fucked into her rapidly, carelessly, she arched and came one last time on his cock. He watched her in awe until his own orgasm overtook him, and she opened her eyes just in time to watch his roll shut and his features contort in ecstasy.  _

_ He buried his face in her neck as he moaned and shook through the orgasm, and Pan heard a low, guttural growl escape his throat just before teeth bit down sharply into her flesh. First there was a flash of sharp, intense pain, but then it quickly fell away and shifted into something more euphoric. It was almost like coming again but much more than that, as if Pan could feel the sudden new waves of pleasure and comfort down in her very soul and not just her body. She wrapped her arms around Trunks tightly, a tear rolling down her cheek that she wasn’t aware of, and through the dreamy haze she felt him licking soothingly at the bite mark.  _

_ And while his voice was muffled and she couldn’t be completely sure, it almost sounded like he whispered “mine” as he laid a gentle kiss upon the mark. She wasn’t sure if she’d only imagined it and she really didn’t care, because she had never felt happier or more complete than she did in that strange, beautiful moment in Trunks’ bed.  _

Back in the present, Pan blinked away a few new tears and took a shuddering breath. “Oh God.”

“I’m so sorry,” Bulla murmured sincerely, full of empathy for her best friend. 

“What… what does it mean? If that’s true, if we have this… bond, does that mean he really does want me?”

Bulla frowned, looking down as she tried to figure out how to word this. “It’s complicated but yeah, even if he went into it last night just to be a dick, he wasn’t faking enjoying it and being attracted to you. But he might not have… feelings for you yet.”

Pan’s brows furrowed. “But…”

“Listen,” Bulla said gently, “Goten fought it  _ hard _ when our thing started. Physically he was attracted to me but he didn’t want to be, and I don’t think it was romantic on his end for awhile. So for Trunks, if I had to guess, all of a sudden you started smelling and looking really good out of nowhere when before he only thought of you as a sister. And now that he’s slept with you and marked you…”

Pan buried her face into her hands. “Oh man. This is… terrible. I screwed everything up, I…”

“Uh, fuck that,” Bulla interjected sharply. “ _ He _ did this. He knew you’ve always had a crush on him and he did what he did anyway just to stick it to Goten, so -“

Pan’s head shot up and her teary, swollen eyes bulged. “What do you mean he always knew I had a crush on him?!”

”... He’s… always known,” Bulla replied cautiously, not wanting to add to Pan’s distress. Sometimes she really hated how bad she was at these kinds of things. “He used to think it was cute, when you were younger.”

Pan groaned miserably and flopped back on the bed. “Just kill me. This can’t possibly get any worse.”

Bulla raised a brow, knowing that probably wasn’t true. “Well… did you at least use a condom?”

Pan’s eyes shot open and she rapidly sat up with a shriek. “...Shit!!”

“.... You’re not even on birth control, are you?”

Pan shook her head and slumped her shoulders. “Great. This is great. I slept with one of my best friends who, turns out, was only using me for revenge and now I’m his mate for life and maybe even knocked up. Perfect. Can I just die now?”

Bulma sighed and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into a hug. “It’ll be okay, Pan. We can get you some Plan B and… maybe after I’m done beating Trunks within an inch of his life, he’ll come to his senses.”

Pan groaned. “Please don’t.”

“Pan, what he did was cruel. Like, he’s always been kind of a dick but not like  _ that _ ,” Bulla pointed out. “I still can’t even believe it. I never dreamed in a million years that he’d ever hurt you on purpose.”

“Me either,” Pan muttered sadly. “But… if anyone’s gonna kick his ass, it’s gonna be me. Just… once I’m done feeling sorry for myself.”

Bulla nodded, though she wasn’t sure she’d be able to stick to that agreement. The urge to find Trunks and make him suffer immensely was almost unbearable. 

“What do I do now, Bulla?”

“Well…” Bulla took a deep breath and thought for a minute. “You might not like this idea, but you should probably talk to my dad and tell him what happened. He knows the most about bonds and since Trunks is his son he can help set him straight.”

Pan shuddered. “I think I’d rather tear my eyes out than talk to Vegeta of all people about this.” She paused and then groaned, “Oh my God, I’m gonna have to tell  _ my _ dad.”

Bulla cringed. “Yeah, let’s save Gohan for last. I might want to beat Trunks’ face in but I don’t actually want him to die. Yet.”

A few moments went by, and after seemingly fighting an internal battle Pan groaned, “All right, fine. I guess… I’ll talk to your dad. But if he blames me for this and thinks I trapped Trunks into it somehow -“

“He won’t,” Bulla assured her. “Besides, that’s impossible to do anyway.”

Pan eyed her for a moment. “You’ve been dealing with this bond stuff for awhile, huh?”

Bulla gave her a weak smile. “Yeah.”

“I’m sorry for what I said last night, about our friendship being one sided,” Pan said, to Bulla’s surprise. “I was just shocked and kind of hurt that you didn’t tell me, but I do get it.”

“No, I’m the one who needs to apologize,” Bulla shook her head. “You were right. And I want to be a better friend to you. You’ve always been there for me and kept all my secrets and I don’t know what I’d do without you. I’ll do better from now on, okay? I promise.”

Pan smiled and pulled her into a hug. Bulla held her tightly and enjoyed the embrace until she couldn’t help but grimace and mutter, “Pan, I love you but you smell like sex and my brother and it’s making me nauseous.”

Pan jerked back with a squeak, blushing and rubbing the back of her head like all the Sons tended to do when they were embarrassed. “Oh, yeah, sorry. Guess I should take a shower before I talk to Vegeta, then.”

“Yeah, I think he’s been through enough in the last 24 hours,” Bulla chuckled. “We can at least spare him  _ that _ .”

—

Once Pan had showered and dressed in some of Bulla’s spare clothes, Bulla walked her to the gravity room where Vegeta spent most of his mornings. She didn’t bother to feel for his ki first, instead punching a code into the control panel outside the door that powered down the room and unlocked it. Once they stepped inside, Bulla stopped in her tracks and blinked in surprise, followed quickly by a small smile. 

She’d been so distracted by Pan and her ordeal that she hadn’t even noticed that Goten’s ever-overwhelming beacon of ki was burning from right in the middle of her own home. He and her father were dressed in their training gear and breathing heavily, clearly having been sparring before the interruption. Vegeta looked no worse for wear, but Goten was sporting a number of bruises and bleeding from his lip and forehead. His eyes met Bulla’s and her entire body immediately warmed, knowing that he was so committed to earning Vegeta’s respect that he’d showed up probably before dawn to start the training that had been demanded of him the night prior. 

Vegeta, on the other hand, wasn’t so pleased. “And why are you two so rudely interrupting my training session in  _ my _ gravity room?”

Before answering, Bulla glanced to Pan and whispered, “Do you want to talk to him alone?” When Pan quickly shook her head, she added, “Want me to get rid of Goten?”

Pan hesitated but eventually muttered, “I guess it doesn’t matter. Between you and Trunks, he’ll find out soon enough.”

Bulla nodded, then closed the gravity room door behind them. “Papa, Pan needs your help.”

Vegeta crossed his arms, eyeing the quarter-Saiyan with disinterest. “With what?”

Bulla looked to Pan expectantly, but when she understandably only looked down and was unable to say a word, Bulla spoke up for her. “Trunks marked her last night,” she declared bluntly. Best to just get it over with. “He didn’t know what he was doing and he probably still doesn’t, but he did it.”

Goten was the first to speak. “Holy shit, what?!”

Vegeta, on the other hand, didn’t alter his stony expression an inch. He looked from his daughter to Pan and back again, then dropped his arms and marched forward towards the pair. 

“Show me,” he told Pan in a quiet but firm tone. She frowned and pulled down the collar of her shirt to expose the bite mark, at which point Vegeta cursed and looked away. “What is this, some kind of mating bond bargain sale?”

“I’m sorry,” Pan muttered, but Bulla wasn’t having  _ any _ of that. 

“ _ Papa _ ,” she said sharply, brows lowering, “this is all 100% Trunks’ fault. He only bit her in the first place because he decided to sleep with her to get back at Goten for being with me.”

Behind Vegeta, Goten paled. “ _ What?!” _

“He told Pan himself this morning when he threw her out of his place,” Bulla added. 

As Vegeta stood there staring at the girls, expression unreadable but serious, Goten came up to Pan and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay, Pan? I’m so sorry, I - this is all my fault. If I hadn’t hid it for so long -“

“Please don’t, Uncle Goten,” Pan pleaded softly. “I don’t care whose fault it is. I really don’t. I just… want to figure all of this out.”

“It’s simple,” Vegeta stated. “You and my son are mates. I’ve suspected for some time now and this confirms it.”

Three pairs of eyes flew to Vegeta. “You suspected it?!” Pan exclaimed. 

He rolled his eyes. “There is much I was never able to learn properly due to Planet Vegeta being destroyed when I was 5, so I’ve been guessing on some things up to this point. But I’ve noticed for a few years that your ki,” he looked at Pan, “and my son’s ki react strangely to each other when you’re close. It’s subtle and you probably don’t notice it, but it’s there. And it’s also there between the two of  _ you _ ,” he glanced quickly between Goten and Bulla. 

Bulla squinted. “Are you saying you knew even before  _ we _ did?”

“I’m saying I  _ suspected _ ,” Vegeta replied. “And I certainly wasn’t going to plant the ideas in your heads if I turned out to be wrong.”

Bulla and Goten looked at each other, flabbergasted. Pan blinked a few times and said, “But… if me and Trunks are mates, I don’t know how that’s going to work because he… he doesn’t want me like that. He told me himself this morning.”

Vegeta scoffed. “The boy is lying to you. You were  _ made _ for each other. There is no undoing the bond or resisting it, or choosing another mate - when Saiyan blood speaks, you have no choice but to listen.”

“So… the bond will  _ make _ him love me?” Pan asked, her eyes betraying her dismay. “I don’t want this if it’s not real and it’s just weird Saiyan shit making us want each other.”

Vegeta’s gaze narrowed. “Brat, this  _ weird Saiyan shit _ is rare and sacred and you will give it the respect it deserves.”

She swallowed, instantly apologetic. “I’m sorry, it’s just -“

“Nothing could  _ be _ more real than this bond,” Vegeta assured her. “The feelings are real. The instincts are real. None of it is forced.”

“He’s right,” Goten interjected. He glanced at Bulla briefly before telling Pan, “For me, the bond just… made me aware of feelings that were already there that I was trying to ignore. It amplifies everything - it doesn’t create anything.”

Bulla smiled at him. “Yeah. And you’re gonna notice some weird side effects, too - when we were bonded we could hear each other’s thoughts and feel each other’s emotions.”

Pan furrowed her brows. “Wait, what do you mean when you  _ were _ bonded? I thought you two were bonded now.”

“It’s a long story,” Goten admitted sheepishly. “We didn’t know what we were doing when it happened so we asked Shenron to undo the bond.”

“An absolutely idiotic decision,” Vegeta declared haughtily. 

Ignoring him, Bulla told Pan, “We’re back together now but we still haven’t… uh… sealed the bond yet. We were waiting to make sure everything was gonna work out first. And we were gonna try to go public in a  _ not _ horrible way, but…”

Vegeta crossed his arms again. “Delaying the inevitable is what made you behave so recklessly in the first place.”

Bulla’s eyes snapped to his. “Huh?”

Vegeta made a face like he’d rather talk about anything  _ but _ this. “Your blood knows what it wants, Eschalotte. By denying it you’re both merely torturing yourselves and making certain…  _ urges… _ worse.”

Bulla and Goten looked at each other, blushing, while Vegeta looked as if he were sucking on a lemon. Bulla suddenly understood why she’d been so out of control with Goten lately and being uncharacteristically reckless, begging him mid-sex to bite her and dragging him off to a bathroom during her mother’s birthday party for a blow job that she  _ knew _ was way too risky. Apparently it was her Saiyan side’s way of trying to keep pushing them together until he finally gave in and gave her his mark. 

“ _ Anyway _ ,” Vegeta cleared his throat, refocusing on Pan. “I will speak to Trunks and set him straight. Stay here in the meantime and don’t tell Gohan or Kakarot - the last thing I need are those fools interfering while I try to clean up this mess.”

Goten took a step closer to Vegeta. “I’ll come with you.”

“You most certainly will  _ not _ ,” Vegeta spat. “All you will do is piss him off more and make this harder. Stay here and look after your mate and niece.” He began to march towards the door, stopping only to bark over his shoulder, “And for the love of Kami, seal the damn bond and get it over with. You both reek of desperation and it’s giving me a headache.”

Once Vegeta was gone, the three young adults stood there awkwardly looking at each other until Bulla cleared her throat. 

“So… breakfast?”

—

Goten’s mind was racing. 

He hadn’t slept a wink the night before, entirely too torn up over what had happened between himself and Trunks to find any real rest. Then before dawn arrived he had showed up at CC ready to start his training with Vegeta, and the very last thing he’d expected was for Pan to show up bearing a fresh mating bite from Trunks himself. 

So much had happened. There was  _ so much _ to process. And as much as he wanted to be there for Pan, he felt useless and couldn’t stop thinking about what Trunks was going through across the city. 

Goten had been there. He knew how it felt, knew how confusing and terrifying it was, and he wanted so badly to go to Trunks and help him and comfort him but he knew that Trunks would beat his face in again before he could get a single word out. 

Goten still couldn’t even believe how cruel Trunks had been to Pan. In all of his imagined worst case scenarios of how Trunks might react, fucking Goten’s niece in revenge had certainly never played a role. 

“Goten,” Bulla said softly, cutting through Goten’s swirling thoughts as she picked up his half-eaten breakfast plate. “You can go.”

He blinked up at her. “Huh?”

She smiled. “I’ve got Pan,” she gestured with a nod towards the sink, where Pan was helping wash dishes. “Pretty sure she’d rather hang out with me than you right now anyway, no offense. So go do what you need to do. It’s okay.”

“.... You’re amazing,” Goten murmured, standing up and leaning in to kiss her gratefully. He then froze, remembering that Pan was right there, and then he blushed faintly when he realized it didn’t matter anymore. “Wow. This is gonna take some getting used to.”

“I know, right?” she grinned before leaning in the rest of the way and meeting him in a sweet kiss that Pan glanced over her shoulder just in time to see. 

“Ugh, gross,” Pan gagged exaggeratedly as Goten flung himself backwards so fast it was comical. “It’s like watching my sister kiss my uncle. I can almost hear banjos playing.”

“Oh stop,” Bulla rolled her eyes, grinning at Goten’s embarrassed face. Then she winked at him and said, “Go on, hurry up. My dad’s talks are never that long.”

Goten nodded, then bade the girls farewell and took off through the nearest window. He masked his energy and raced to Trunks’ apartment, getting there in near-record time and making sure neither Trunks nor Vegeta would see him as he parked himself on a narrow ledge outside the living room window. 

Then he took a deep breath and centered himself, closing his eyes and suppressing every sense other than that of his hearing. It took him a moment or two but then he could hear them clear as day, speaking on the other side of the wall. And it didn’t escape Goten’s notice that Trunks’ ki was more erratic and troubled than it had ever been in his life. 

—

Before Vegeta had shown up, Trunks had been sitting on the living room floor with his head in his hands, sweaty strands of hair clutched between his fists as he squeezed his eyes shut and tried in vain to block out the unnerving, unwanted new voice in his head. 

It wasn’t really a voice, but he didn’t know how else to think of it. It was overwhelming and new and terrible, and it was coming from seemingly the very center of his soul and  _ screaming _ at him to find  _ her _ . Comfort  _ her _ . Protect  _ her _ . 

_ You hurt her. You broke her heart. She’s crying because of  _ you _. Go to her and fix it, tell her you didn’t mean it. Hold her and make it better.  _

Trunks had gritted his teeth and poured all of his energy into fighting the noisy, insufferable instincts, his ki spiking and sending him straight into Super Saiyan without even realizing it. He was losing his mind, clearly, and it must have been his punishment for using Pan and hurting her in such an unforgivable way. 

_ My Pan _ , he nearly said aloud but no, no, that wasn’t right. She wasn’t his. He didn’t even like her like that, not really - he’d only enjoyed the night prior so much because revenge always felt good and also because she was partially Saiyan like he was and could take the kind of roughness that human women couldn’t. 

That was what he told himself, but his memories told a different story. 

_ “Fuck,” he groaned, pulling away for a much-needed breath and glancing up to relish the sight of Pan spread out and flushed all over for him. Her body was gorgeous, powerful, and deliciously sensitive to his every touch but even better… she tasted fucking  _ amazing _. He nipped at her inner thigh, his teeth aching to bite into her flesh all over for some reason, and then he dove back to her core and brought another satisfying moan tearing from her lips.  _

_ “T-Trunks,” she mewled, shaky fingers tugging gently at silky lavender locks until his responding groan led her to tug a little harder. He grinned against her and worked his tongue faster, firmer, enjoying the way she gushed and soaked his mouth and chin in response. Then he closed his lips around her clit and sucked, and she yanked so sharply at his hair that he almost came untouched.  _

_ He loved having his hair pulled, and even more so, he loved a woman that wasn’t afraid to make him hurt a little bit. Pity that most physically couldn’t.  _

_ But Pan… oh yes. She could bring that delicious bite of pain that so few others could, couldn’t she?  _

_ After he’d made her come twice from his mouth alone, he wiped his face and pushed up on his hands to grin down at the wreck he’d reduced her to. Her moans of ecstasy were sweet, almost as sweet as her unbelievably intoxicating scent - had she always smelled like that? - and he could see himself getting addicted to this. How could he not? It was just so damn  _ good _.  _

_ As she recovered, he moved over her and laid a gentle but filthy kiss on her lips. “See how good you taste?” he murmured, and when her dark eyes opened to meet his, they were full of fire.  _

_ She rose up and kissed him fiercely, pushing him back until he had no choice but to sit back on his knees while she followed. Her hands were all over him, her tongue greedy against his, and his head was spinning by the time she broke away and dropped down to her hands and knees. Her goal was clear, her eyes fixing on his almost painfully hard cock, licking her lips as she wrapped a still-shaky hand around it.  _

_ He slipped his fingers into her messy dark hair, brushing it away from her face to allow him to see everything. “Gonna suck my cock, sweetheart?” Her eyes flickered up to his as she blushed, biting her lip as she grinned. He grinned back, giving her head the slightest of encouraging pushes as he murmured, “Go on, open up. Wanna feel that pretty mouth around me.” _

_ She gave in with an almost delirious groan, taking him into her mouth as Trunks let out a small, content sigh. When he inhaled next, her scent flooded him all over again and his entire body shuddered. She found a rhythm quickly, bobbing her head and sneaking peeks up at him, her hand working what she couldn’t fit in her mouth, and he found that he couldn’t take his eyes off of her.  _

_ He’d had more skilled blowjobs before, had slept with women with no gag reflexes who could make him see stars in a matter of minutes, but somehow none of them had ever felt as good at this. It didn’t make any sense and he didn’t fucking care because it felt too good, too perfect, like somehow this was right and always where he’d been destined to end up.  _

_ He pushed those insane, nonsensical thoughts aside and climbed higher and higher until he was tensing and gasping and filling her mouth with everything he had. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so good and had come so hard, and when he pulled himself out and looked down to find Pan breathing hard and staring up at him with his come dripping from her lips, a low growl he’d never heard from himself before rumbled from his chest and he yanked her up to drown himself in her once more.  _

_ As he kissed her deep and long and filthy, he made her a promise. “I’m gonna fuck you so fucking hard, Pan. Gonna fuckin’  _ ruin _ you.” _

_ She gasped against his lips. “Please.” _

Back in the present, Trunks fought the sudden urge to vomit and nearly tore his hair from his scalp as he pulled on it miserably. Who was he kidding? He  _ was _ attracted to her - overwhelmingly so, it seemed - and he didn’t understand where it had even come from. He’d never thought of her as anything but just…  _ Pan _ , the cute and tenacious daughter of Gohan, best friend of Bulla,  _ his _ friend and frequent sparring partner. When had that changed? 

He’d called Goten a monster and he  _ hated _ him for what he’d done to Bulla behind his back, but now he’d gone and done the same damn thing to an innocent girl who didn’t deserve to be used as a pawn for revenge. He’d taken advantage of her attraction to him and then tossed her out like garbage the next morning, lying right to her face and  _ crushing _ her. 

_ Her face had crumpled, tears visibly stinging her eyes as Trunks’ heart dropped. Why did he feel like he’d just stabbed  _ himself _ in the chest?  _

_ “You can’t mean that,” she muttered, her voice painfully small. “Not after… not after last night and… everything you said, and -“ _

_ “Pan,” he snapped, forcing the words from his mouth, “I would have said anything it took to get you into bed. Don’t you get that?” _

_ She winced as if he’d struck her. He suspected it would have hurt much less if he had. “But -“ _

_ “I used you,” he said plainly. “I used you because you’re like a little sister to Goten. And now he’ll know how it feels.” _

_ The tears sprang freely from her eyes now, and Trunks fought the almost irresistible urge to throw himself at her feet and apologize and do anything he could to fix the mess he was making. “Please tell me you’re lying. If you’re not…” _

_ He swallowed, almost giving in just then. But he couldn’t. He wasn’t like Goten. He’d only done this for revenge and to make a point. He could never like Pan like that, despite the mounting (and confusing) evidence to the contrary.  _

_ “I’m not.” _

_ Somehow, some way, he could feel her break in that moment. He knew it was impossible and it had to be his imagination, but it felt so real it knocked the wind out of him. She tore her eyes away from him and turned away, picking up her shoes and running out the door before she broke down fully.  _

_ When the door slammed shut, he felt something wet on his cheek and frowned as he reached up to touch it.  _

_ It was a tear of his own.  _

The horrible, painfully fresh memory came to an end when distinct white and gold boots stepped in front of Trunks and stole his attention. He looked up in surprise, not having even heard his father enter the apartment. 

“Dad?”

Vegeta stared down at his son, arms crossed and expression blank. A moment of silence dragged on before he finally noted, “You’re a mess.”

Trunks dragged a hand through his hair, grimacing at how damp with sweat it and his face were. “I don’t know what’s happening to me. I feel like I’m losing it.”

“Hmph. Perhaps you deserve it after the cowardly little stunt you pulled with Pan last night.”

Trunks paled, a fresh wave of panic taking root from within. He looked up at Vegeta in shock. “Wh-“

“Bulma and I raised you better than this, Trunks.”

Trunks swallowed drily and looked down, his panic shifting into deep shame. “I know.”

Vegeta sighed impatiently. “Stop wallowing. Be a man and own up to what you did.”

Trunks winced. “I don’t want to. I’m ashamed. I wanna take it all back and just… go on like it never happened.”

“Then you shouldn’t have given her your mating bite.”

Trunks froze. Mating bite? He stared up at Vegeta in confusion, though he guessed that a mating bite had something to do with the mating bond bullshit that Bulla had been talking about at the party the night before while Trunks had been exploding with anger and barely listening. 

“Let me guess,” Vegeta remarked, “you feel intense emotional distress including some feelings that don’t quite seem like your own. Strange instincts are urging you to go to Pan and comfort her and apologize. And you can feel her energy so intensely without even searching for it that it’s almost like a second sun burning in the sky.”

“... How could you know all that?”

Vegeta rolled his eyes. “Because I’m the Prince of all Saiyans, Trunks. You gave Pan the same mating bite that Goten gave your sister. You are now permanently bonded to her. You are mates.”

Another wave of nausea wracked through Trunks, and this time, he scrambled to his feet and  _ just _ made it to the trash can in the kitchen before he threw up. 

Vegeta scoffed. “She took the news far better than you are.”

Once he was done heaving, Trunks slid to the floor and leaned back against his fridge. “There’s gotta be a mistake. I didn’t - I didn’t mean to - I fucking bite women in bed all the time, how was I supposed to know -“

“Remember that research your mother and Gohan compiled some years ago? Do you also remember how much I encouraged you to read it?” Vegeta asked flatly. 

Trunks looked up at him angrily. “You could have just told me!”

“It’s not as if it would have made any real difference. You cannot give a mating bite to just  _ anyone _ . It merely seals the bond - it doesn’t create it.”

Trunks laughed, the sound entirely devoid of humor. “Oh, okay, so what then - Pan is my goddamn soulmate?”

Vegeta shrugged one shoulder. “That is more or less how an Earthling would describe it, yes. In truth, mating bonds are very rare among Saiyans and for years I assumed you kids lacked enough Saiyan blood to experience it in the first place. But I was obviously wrong.” He paused. “It may not seem like it right now, son, but this isn’t a bad thing. It was a sacred and treasured thing on our home planet.”

“Yeah, well, fuck our home planet,” Trunks muttered. “This is  _ wrong _ . I’ve known Pan since she was born, I fucking  _ babysat _ her.”

Vegeta raised a brow. “Didn’t stop you from fucking her, did it?”

Trunks let out an aggravated roar and got to his feet, ki spiking as he looked his father in the eye and shouted, “I never wanted this! All I wanted was revenge, Dad!”

“And you think getting petty revenge by taking advantage of a much younger girl who’s always pined for you is more defensible than the bond that now exists between Bulla and Goten? Do you really think you have any sort of moral high ground here?”

“No, I lowered myself to Goten’s level to get him back,” Trunks replied. 

“Wrong,” Vegeta barked. “He might be a coward and a fool, but his intentions have never been malicious. I can no longer say the same for you.”

Trunks balked. “You’re defending the bastard who’s been fucking your  _ teenage daughter  _ behind your back for months?!”

“I’m defending my Saiyan daughter’s Saiyan mate,” Vegeta retorted. “I suggest you get used to it. He isn’t going anywhere, and now neither is Pan.”

“... I can’t believe this,” Trunks muttered, taking his hands through his hair and starting to pace. “There has to be a way to undo it. What about… what about the dragon balls? Surely we can just gather them and ask Shenron to -“

“Your sister already tried that. It didn’t end well.”

Trunks’ eyes narrowed. “Are you fucking kidding me? So there’s just… nothing I can do?”

“Not really. And the sooner you come to terms and stop fighting it the better.” Vegeta paused, his tone growing more serious. “You need to honor your mate, Trunks, and make things right with her. You need each other.”

“Bullshit,” Trunks snapped. “I don’t care what you say. This is my life and I didn’t ask for this bond. I don’t want it. I don’t want  _ her _ .”

“Good luck with that,” Vegeta mused, turning around and making for the door. “You may want to suck it up and talk to Goten, since he can tell you firsthand how that strategy will work out for you.”

“I don’t want anything to do with that bastard,” Trunks hissed, though the pang in his heart said otherwise. 

“Suit yourself,” Vegeta said, opening the door and glancing back towards his son. “Come home when you’re ready to act like a real Saiyan and make things right.”

And with that Vegeta left. He left an unsettling silence in his wake, and all the anger left Trunks in a rush of despair. Deep down he knew the truth - his instincts and Saiyan blood had always known it - but the rest of him just wasn’t willing to even entertain the notion. 

He slid back down to the floor, feeling Pan’s hurt and sadness in his heart like it was his own, surrounded by her scent that still permeated his apartment and tormented his senses. He banged his head back against the wall, closing his eyes and feeling them start to swell with tears of utter hopelessness. 

—

Meanwhile, outside on the ledge, Goten wiped a tear or two of his own away. He’d heard everything, and it felt so strange and awful to  _ not _ be able to just let himself into the apartment and be a shoulder for Trunks to cry on. What even was life without Trunks? Who was Goten if he wasn’t Trunks’ other half, if they were never able to reconcile after everything that had happened? 

“You aren’t very subtle, boy.”

Goten’s head snapped up to find Vegeta floating next to him, arms crossed and expression unamused. “Oh. Sorry, Vegeta. I just… I needed to come.”

“Hmph. Well, come on then. I imagine the rest of today will be quite eventful, what with all that’s happened, and if I have to endure it so do you.”

Goten blinked. It was true, there was a lot that hadn’t been dealt with yet. Goten had barely talked to Chi-Chi yet about him and Bulla, and now there was Pan and Trunks to deal with. It wouldn’t be long before Gohan or Videl began to suspect that something was up with their daughter, and Goten suspected that Vegeta planned to encourage Pan to get it all over with and out in the open sooner than later. After all, keeping secrets for so long was what had made his and Bulla’s situation all the more disastrous. 

“Okay. Hey, uh… Vegeta?”

Vegeta looked at Goten from the corner of his eye. “What?”

“... Do you think Trunks will ever forgive me?”

Vegeta rolled his eyes. “I think that both of my children love you enough to forgive just about anything. Not that I have the faintest clue why.” Then he blasted off towards Capsule Corp, and with a tiny twinge of hope born from those words, Goten took off right behind him. 

  
  
  



	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a family meeting, Bulla and Goten make a decision, and Pan sets out to confront Trunks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for your continued support & comments and feedback, it means the world to me and I love you guys so much 🥺 got another long chapter today and not much to say besides I hope you all like it because I think I might kinda love it 😅 oh, and the lyrics used in this ch are from Fine Line by Harry Styles which, of course, are also where the title is from 💜

_What a damn day_ , Bulla thought to herself as she stared tiredly at her reflection in her bathroom mirror, brushing her teeth on autopilot and feeling like the day had lasted about a week. 

First there had been Pan waking her up with the shocking news of her and Trunks’ wild night together and resulting mating bite. After Vegeta had learned of the events and took off to talk some sense into Trunks - which apparently hadn’t been all that successful - he and Goten had returned to CC and the _real_ chaos had begun. 

Bulma had woken up late with a hangover and stumbled out into the kitchen only to overhear Bulla and Pan talking about the new bond, and Bulma had nearly hit the ceiling. After she learned the full story - and Vegeta and Bulla convinced her to _not_ go hunt down Trunks herself and kick his ass - Vegeta declared that it was time for a bi-family meeting that nobody wanted but he insisted was entirely necessary. 

Pan had understandably objected and told him in no uncertain terms that she was _not_ ready for her parents nor her grandparents to find out about her and Trunks, and while Vegeta argued that she was only delaying the inevitable, he nonetheless respected her wishes. As a result, the family meeting focused on Goten and Bulla and getting everyone used to the way that things were going to work from now on. 

And Bulla had quickly discovered that there was nothing more uncomfortable than sitting in a living room with her and Goten’s entire families while said families discussed the ramifications of their bond and what might or might not happen next. 

“Look,” Chi-Chi had sighed, “I don’t have a problem with any of this mating business and I’m overjoyed to have a young lady as amazing as Bulla join the family, but I’m just worried that if they don’t make it _official_ -“

“It _is_ official,” Vegeta scoffed, interrupting. “Or it will be when your son finally seals the damn bond again, but the point is, Saiyan mating bonds are far more ‘official’ than a mere Earthling piece of paper.”

“But it’s not proper!” Chi-Chi retorted, aghast. “It’ll cause a scandal! Bulla’s already so much younger than him, and -“

“Mom,” Goten cut in nervously, “we definitely haven’t even talked about getting married once so, uh, can we just -“

“I’m not getting married any time soon,” Bulla declared, swiftly putting an end to all of _that_. “If we decide to get married eventually we’ll do it on our own terms. I understand your concerns, Chi-Chi, and I appreciate you caring about our reputations but the truth is I don’t give a damn what anybody thinks. People might not understand but that’s fine, I don’t expect humans to understand Saiyan instincts and rituals. And I don’t care either way.”

Chi-Chi had begrudgingly accepted that, and Vegeta had smirked with pride at his daughter’s words. 

“I do have a question,” Videl had piped up next. “Can these bonds happen between a Saiyan and a human? Or only two Saiyans?”

Bulma replied by pulling aside the red scarf on her neck and grinning. “It can definitely happen between a Saiyan and a human.”

Vegeta blushed at her openness but nodded anyway. “The effects are not as severe as with a purely Saiyan bond but yes, the woman and I have a similar connection.”

Bulla blinked, never having known that before and now feeling even more put out that neither of them had ever bothered to tell her about bonds in the first place, but then Goku distracted everyone in the room by staring wide-eyed at Bulma until he gasped softly, a metaphorical light bulb appearing over his head. 

“Chi!” he exclaimed, reaching over and tugging his wife’s collar down suddenly to expose a similar faded mark. “So that’s why that mark never went away! Remember on our wedding night when we were doin’ it and I couldn’t stop myself and I bit you and you slapped me because it hurt and -“

“Goku!” Chi-Chi exclaimed, jerking back and pulling her collar high as her face turned bright red. “Shut up!”

Goten grimaced and dropped his head into his hands. Gohan appeared just as disturbed, but Bulla noticed the wheels visibly turning in Videl’s head. She was wearing a top that didn’t hide her neck, which was distinctly unmarked. Likely not for long, however, if the look on her face was any indication. 

“Hold on,” Pan interjected, having been mostly silent up to that point. “So if you guys were able to mate with humans, does that mean… they were your soulmates? Because I thought you can’t create a bond and the bite only seals it.”

“ _Soulmate_ is an absurd term, but yes,” Vegeta replied. “It would appear that Kakarot and I were fated to our human wives.”

“And our youngest kids were meant for each other!” Goku giggled happily. “It all kinda makes sense, don’t you think?”

Vegeta rolled his eyes. “Yes, Kakarot, I have been doomed by fate itself to tolerate your insufferable constant presence in my life.”

Gohan rubbed his chin contemplatively. “What about divorce? If a pair of mates decide to separate?”

“Unheard of,” Vegeta replied. “As far as I know, it’s never happened.”

“Well, Bulla and Goten are only half Saiyan. What happens if down the line they decide to split up? I’m not trying to be pessimistic, just an honest question.”

Vegeta shrugged. “At this point, I highly doubt their human blood can stand in the way of their Saiyan bond. If it hasn’t yet, it very likely never will.”

“It’s just such a big commitment,” Chi-Chi noted, looking at Bulla with kind but concerned eyes. “And you’re so young. I was young when I married Goku, too, and I wouldn’t change a thing but I can’t pretend our marriage has been easy. Are you really sure that you’re ready for this? To only be with one man forever? Someone who’s been more of an uncle to you most of your life?”

With all eyes now on Bulla, she shifted uncomfortably but her voice was firm as she gave her answer. “I know it won’t always be easy. I’m not under any illusions there. If my mom and dad are mates,” she glanced at them, “then they’re proof that a mating bond doesn’t mean it’s a cakewalk. But they _are_ proof that it’s worth it. So yes. I’m sure.”

Goten smiled at her, and Bulla returned it warmly. She then glanced at Pan and immediately felt a pang of sympathy - she was trying not to cry, clearly struggling with her own situation which thus far was the exact opposite of Bulla’s. 

Back in the present, Bulla finished brushing her teeth and let out a yawn. At least all of that was over with. Soon enough, Trunks and Pan’s bond would come to light one way or another and they’d have the spotlight. She didn’t wish it upon them, though - poor Pan never asked for any of this, and it was excruciating to see her suffering the way that she was. 

After running a brush through her hair and throwing it into a quick braid, Bulla left her bathroom and was making a beeline for her bed when yet _another_ knock at her balcony door made her jump. 

“Pan, if that’s you again I’m gonna scream,” she muttered as she walked to the door and threw back the curtain. But then she froze and smiled a little when she found Goten on the other side of the glass, leaning against the frame and winking at her. Apparently she was getting so used to feeling his ki constantly burning at the edge of her consciousness that she barely noticed when he was only a few yards away. 

She opened the door and giggled, “Getting kinda bold now, don’t you think?”

Goten shrugged and came inside, cupping her face with both hands and giving her a gentle kiss. “Well, now that the cat’s out of the bag…”

Suddenly she wasn’t so tired anymore. 

He walked her backwards towards her bed, kissing her the whole way and picking her up and laying her down once they got there. He wasted no time in slowly climbing over her and resuming their kisses, groaning lowly, “Fuck, wanted to get you alone all day.”

She grinned and reached down to tug at his shirt, slipping her palms beneath it and running them up his abs. “Aww, you want me that bad?”

“Always,” he growled, leaning up to quickly rip his shirt off before attacking her lips again. “Even earlier with our parents right there, just wanted to throw you over my shoulder and drag you to bed, fuck you till you screamed.”

Bulla moaned softly as he started dragging his lips down her neck, her flesh reacting immediately and pulsing with that ache that could only be satisfied with his teeth sinking into it and claiming her. She spread her legs wider and rocked up against him, fingers slipping into his hair to hold him closer, and Goten’s hand was sliding up under her shirt when a sudden loud banging at the door made them both freeze. 

“ _Just because you’re mates doesn’t mean you can defile my daughter under my roof!”_ Vegeta bellowed, and Bulla watched the blood drain from Goten’s face. “ _If you want to keep your balls attached I suggest you keep your filthy hands to yourself, boy!”_

“Y-yes sir!” Goten yelped. “Sorry, sir.” 

The last thing they heard from Vegeta was a menacing growl followed by heavy boots stomping away. Once the coast was clear, Goten looked down at Bulla and they stared at each other before cracking up laughing. 

“Oh my God,” Bulla giggled uncontrollably as Goten rolled off of her and flopped on his back. “ _Your face_ when he started yelling. It was priceless!”

Goten groaned and threw an arm over his face. “I think I just saw my life flash before my eyes.”

Bulla grinned and cuddled up to him, throwing her arm around his middle. “Don’t worry, baby. I won’t let him rip off your balls.”

Goten cringed. “Something tells me you wouldn’t be able to stop him if he _really_ wanted to.”

“Well… then we’d just wish them back. _Shenron, please restore Goten’s balls to their former glory!”_

Despite it all Goten laughed with her, wrapping his arm around her in the process. “Fuck. I guess we’ll have to use my apartment for sex from now on.”

She agreed with a yawn, her sleepiness catching up with her now that the flame between them had been temporarily extinguished. “I like your bed better anyway. Smells like you.”

Goten ran his fingers through her hair, nuzzling the top of her head. “So… I’ve been thinking and… your dad’s probably right. About the bite. I don’t really see any reason to put it off any longer.”

Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked up at him. “Really?”

He nodded, his dark eyes soft as they met her blue ones. “Yeah. I know what I want. I don’t have any more doubts.”

She smiled, the words warming her from the inside out. She recalled a time not too long ago when the idea of hearing such a thing from him had been nothing more than a naive fantasy. He had been so ashamed of his attraction to her, so conflicted and terrified and she had been selfish and mostly uncaring towards his turmoil. They’d fought as much as they’d fucked, and almost all conversations had led to arguing that went around in pointless circles. 

Now she was laying in his arms in her bed, their families no longer in the dark, and he was telling her that he wanted to truly be her mate. Forever. 

“Goten,” she said softly, her brows furrowing slightly, “are you doing okay with… everything with Trunks?”

His serene expression grew more complicated. “No,” he replied honestly. “It’s killing me. But it’s… I can’t change it now. All I can do is hope that he’ll understand eventually and forgive me.”

She sighed and nuzzled deeper on his chest, closing her eyes. “I’m sorry. I never wanted this to happen between you two.”

“I know,” Goten assured her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. 

“I don’t want you to resent me down the line for putting a wedge between you guys,” she admitted. “And I don’t know if he’s ever gonna forgive either of us. Though frankly I might never forgive _him_ for what he did to Pan.”

“Don’t worry about it, Princess,” Goten murmured. “We’ll figure things out as we go. Together.”

She smiled, not minding the sound of that. As her sleepiness began to take hold, her breathing was on the verge of evening out when Goten’s voice gently startled her back to fully awake. 

“Hey Bulla?”

She grunted lightly. “Mnh.”

“... Remember that time I came over and we fucked in your shower,” he said lowly, “and then I carried you to this bed and made you squirt?”

Her cheeks immediately catching flame, Bulla groaned and smacked his chest lightly. “That was embarrassing! And why are you bringing that up _now_? I was half asleep.”

“Sorry,” Goten chuckled. “It was just... _hot_. I gotta make that happen again.”

“Go to sleep,” she sighed, “and maybe I’ll let you one of these days.”

He held her a little closer and closed his eyes with a contented smile. “Deal.”

—

Over the next few days, Bulla and Goten continued adjusting to their new normal while Trunks and Pan each attempted to do the exact opposite, in their own stubborn ways. 

Trunks, driven to near madness by the bond and its increasingly powerful side effects, left his apartment and took refuge in the wilderness to get away from the world as he tried his very best to fight the inevitable. And as for Pan, she lied and told her family that she was ill and stayed home in bed as she tried to ignore the constant pulsing in her veins and the ache in both her heart and body, but it was a losing battle. The longer they were apart and the harder they fought, the more they felt each other’s distress and their instincts _raged_ with the need to comfort each other and make it go away. 

Pan could feel Trunks’ guilt and the conflicting emotions that were tearing him up inside, and he could feel her sadness and utter heartbreak in how he’d used her and thrown her away once he was done. Underneath it all was the lifelong love they’d held for each other, now amplified by instincts and desires that neither of them were prepared to cope with, and further complicated by the fact that neither of them were willing to be the first to break. 

Pan, after all, hated him for what he’d done to her and she sure as hell wasn’t gonna go chasing after him. Trunks, however, was still convinced that his instincts were sick and disgusting and to be fought at all costs, so he simply stayed where he was in the wilderness and let out his frustration and anger by occasionally screaming at the sky like a lunatic. 

Deep down, they both knew that there was only one way that this was gonna end. In Pan’s case, it was Bulla who finally spoke some sense into her once she’d reached day 4 of the utter torture. 

“Pan,” Bulla told her best friend as she laid curled up in her sheets, crying her eyes out for the umpteenth time, “this is stupid. It doesn’t matter which one of you gives in first, okay? You’re both gonna lose your damn minds if something doesn’t happen soon.”

“Even if I did go to him,” Pan sniffled, “he’ll just push me away.”

Bulla smirked. “That’s where you’re wrong. You have the real power here, Pan. Go find my stupid brother and bring him to his knees. Show him that he fucked with the wrong Saiyan woman.”

Pan hadn’t been sure about that at first, but after Bulla left and the sun set to make room for the full moon in the sky, she found that she really didn’t have a choice. She had reached the end of her rope, and giving in didn’t sound so much like admitting defeat anymore. 

On the contrary, it felt more like a call to battle. A _glorious_ battle. 

Pan flew from her apartment in nothing but a sports bra and fitted leggings, her preferred training gear, and she glided towards Trunks’ unintentionally massive beacon of ki at top speed. The closer she got the more her skin tingled with excitement, her blood pumping in anticipation for - what exactly? A fight, or sex, both? She didn’t care, because whatever happened next was going to be _right_ and it was gonna feel damn good and put an end to her misery. She just _knew_ it. 

Once she reached the desolate valley that Trunks had taken to hiding in, she touched down noisily on the rocky ground and felt her heart skip as she took in the sight of him for the first time since that one terrible, awful morning. His back was turned to her, his head hanging low and fists clenched at his sides, and the black tank and sweatpants he wore clung to his sweat-slicked skin in ways she certainly didn’t mind. 

But she wasn’t here to admire how pretty he was. No, she was here to make him hurt. 

She raised her right hand and sent a ki blast directly at his head. He cocked his head to the side slightly and dodged it, and it smashed into a tree instead and sent it tumbling to the ground in pieces. 

His fists clenched harder. “ _Leave_.”

He barely even sounded like himself, but the sound of his voice made her blood sing with lust and anger. Her lips curled into a smirk that was a rare occurrence on her usually sweet face. “Make me.”

Slowly, carefully, he turned just enough to glare at her over his shoulder. They stood there staring at each other, their ki crackling with heat and electricity, and when Pan powered up and let herself be enveloped by the Super Saiyan aura, Trunks followed without a word. He sunk into a fighting stance, blue eyes hard and determined despite the chaotic mess that she could _feel_ he was inside, and Pan took a moment to breathe in deep and let the warrior within her take over. 

No more tears. No more wallowing. No more second guessing. Now was the time for action. 

She let out a roar and came at him with everything she had. 

—

Back in West City, Vegeta stood on the balcony outside of his and Bulma’s bedroom and smirked up at the full moon. “Finally, those brats are acting like the Saiyans they are.”

He had felt Pan’s initial spike of ki when she’d left her apartment and he’d tracked her curiously, having a hunch as to where she was headed. She had quickly proven him right, and now that he could sense their ki signatures pulsing together and climbing higher with each passing moment, he knew what would come next. And _that_ wasn’t something he was interested in bearing witness to. 

“What was that?” Bulma asked as she approached Vegeta from behind, wrapping her arms around his middle and laying her head against his shoulder. 

“It appears that our son and his new mate are finally working things out.”

Bulma perked up. “Oh! Really? What are they doing?”

Vegeta smirked. “Most likely beating the shit out of each other.”

Bulma instantly groaned and snagged against him. “Kami, you Saiyans are exhausting. But interestingly enough, before Bulla left earlier, she told me that she thinks her and Goten are going to seal their bond tonight.”

Vegeta raised a brow. “Hmph.”

“Apparently Goten is cooking her a feast fit for a queen and told her to be ready for a special night,” Bulma grinned. “Sounds romantic.”

Vegeta turned around to face her, a smirk on his lips as his hands settled around her waist. “Romance is for fools. Besides,” he trailed a gloved finger down the faded but very much present mark on her neck, “I didn’t hear you complaining about a lack of romance when I gave you _my_ bite.”

“How could I?” Bulma asked, her eyes fluttering shut as he leaned in and breathed against the mark, instantly draining the day’s stress and tension from them both. “It was kind of hard to talk when I was coming so hard I almost blacked out like five times.”

“Mmm,” he agreed, licking playfully at the bite and tugging at the dress she wore. “Take this off.”

“ _Here_?” she giggled as he growled and just tore the damn thing off himself. She glanced up at the moon and smirked, “I know you don’t believe me but I swear the full moon always makes you like this.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, woman,” he grinned back as he slid down to his knees before her, his intent deliciously obvious. “ _You_ make me like this.”

Bulma smiled and sighed as he leaned in closer. “I guess I can live with that.”

—

Meanwhile, Bulla felt like she’d tripped and fallen into a daydream straight out of her sweetest and most memorable teenage dreams. 

Goten cooking gourmet dinners for her wasn’t something new, but his apartment being immaculately clean and lit up with countless candles while soft music played quietly in the background definitely was. Add to that the massive bouquet of aqua and violet roses he’d given her when he’d picked her up, and Bulla knew that tonight was definitely going to be different from most. 

She wondered if this was how other girls felt when they knew a marriage proposal was coming. Then again, this was so much more than that. It was hardly even a fair comparison. 

They ate the dinner together and enjoyed deceptively light conversation all while Bulla squirmed inside, wanting to just skip this part and get to the good stuff, but she forced herself to be patient. After all, Goten had gone through a lot of trouble to make this night perfect for her, and she wasn’t gonna be selfish and ruin it. She worked hard these days to think of others before herself, and it wasn’t easy but thus far her efforts had paid off. 

Once the food had been eaten up and they’d finished off a bottle of wine, Goten had accepted her help for a quick clean up and all the while her pulse was racing in anticipation. She was ready to pounce on him when the dishes were done but instead, Goten took her by surprise and smiled at her sheepishly before asking, “So, uh… could we… will you… dance with me?”

Her eyes widened, a nervous smile touching her lips. “Dance with you?”

He nodded, blushing a little and rubbing the back of his head. He was _adorable_. “Yeah, I uh… thought it would be nice. I moved the furniture around earlier to make more room for it.”

She tilted her head, her eyes softening as she took in how visibly anxious he was. “You know, I spent my whole life thinking you were this smooth ladies man, but you’re actually just a big nervous dork, huh?”

He barked out a laugh. “Just with you, Princess.”

And that was something she planned to take pride in for the rest of her life. She grinned and took his hand in hers, then walked backwards towards the living room. “All right, big guy. Twirl me around and show me what you got.”

He rolled his eyes and leaned in to steal a kiss from her. She smiled against his lips, her heart warm and full as she watched him make every effort to make this night as special as possible for her. 

—

Meanwhile, back in the wilderness, Pan sunk her fist into Trunks’ gut hard and seethed, “That’s for using me.”

He staggered back, doubled over and gasping in pain, and Pan stared at him in satisfaction for a moment or two. They were both bruised and a little bloody, Trunks more so since he’d taken mostly to being on the defensive as she relentlessly attacked, and Pan’s adrenaline was running as high as her emotions. She then aimed a swift kick to the side of his head, and as he hit the ground she yelled, “And that’s for breaking my heart, you bastard!”

Trunks groaned and stumbled up to his knees and then to his feet, wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. Pan suppressed a shudder, wishing she’d pinned him down and licked it off of him instead. 

“I shouldn’t have used you the way I did,” Trunks admitted, his hoarse voice making her skin break out in goosebumps. “And I’m sorry for that. But I don’t care what my father says. We’re not ‘mates’. This can’t happen.”

“It already has,” she shrugged. “And I know you feel it too, because I can feel everything you feel. You can’t lie to me, Trunks, not anymore.”

He paled a little bit, and she understood - the intimacy of their bond was jarring, to say the least, and neither of them had asked for it. 

“If I’d known what I was doing,” he swallowed, “I never would have bitten you.”

“It would have happened either way, eventually,” she pointed out. “This is… fate. It always has been.”

His ki spiked and he roared angrily, “We should get a fucking choice! This is bullshit! I don’t…” He grimaced and tensed, his hands reaching up and gripping his hair as a wave of guilt and self-hatred washed over him. 

Pan winced, the wind knocking out of her as Trunks’ turmoil wracked through her own mind. He felt like utter shit for what he’d done to her - as he should - and his uncontrollably overwhelming desire for her was tearing him apart from the inside out. He wanted her but he fucking hated himself for it, hated that he was apparently the same piece of shit that he’d categorized Goten as, hated how out of control of his own mind, body and _destiny_ that he was. 

For a moment - only a moment - Pan felt her resolve waver. Did she really want Trunks if the price was him hating himself and living at constant war with his Saiyan instincts? She’d loved him for so long but she never wanted it to happen like this. Maybe the battle had been lost before it had even begun. 

_No_ , her instincts whispered to her, her Saiyan blood keeping her strong and steady. _This is right, this is fate. Deep down he knows it. Prove it to him._

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she took a step closer to him. “Trunks, please. Don’t fight it.”

He forced himself to take a step back. “ _Stay away from me_.”

“I can’t,” she confessed honestly. “Not anymore. And I know you don’t want me to.”

“You don’t know shit,” he growled through gritted teeth as she continued to advance and he continued to back up. He didn’t seem to realize that he was heading straight for a large tree. 

“Yeah I do, and you know it,” she shot back. His back hit the tree and he jumped, startled, and she took the opportunity to flash right before his eyes and close the distance between them. 

She powered down, her hair fading from golden spikes back to soft and straight black locks, and she stood on the tips of her toes to place her hands on either side of his head and cage him in against the tree. He froze in panic, but then her scent hit him head on at close range and she watched in fascination as his eyes visibly dilated and his nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply. Color returned to his cheeks and he groaned under his breath, closing his eyes and unconsciously leaning into her. 

She closed her eyes too, letting his scent wash over her in the same way and feeling like the world was finally starting to make sense again for the first time in days. With him so close to her and his scent so strong as it enveloped her, her mind felt sharper and clearer and the anger that had been fueling her dissipated some. 

“ _Pan_ ,” he whispered, sounding tortured as he inched closer and closer to her neck, where his mark was. He struggled hard but in the end he had no defenses left and he buried his nose against the mark, breathing her in and sending a blessed wave of tranquility through both of them. 

Pan shuddered at the feeling, recalling Bulla telling her how astoundingly comforting having the mark nuzzled was. Both her and Trunks slumped forward as the tension drained from their muscles, and Pan threaded her fingers into his hair as he stayed there, nose pressed to her skin. 

Then a low, threatening growl began to rumble out of his chest, and Trunks barely sounded like himself as he declared lowly, “ _Mine_.”

Then his teeth sunk into the mark, and Pan caught fire. A gasp flew from her lips and turned into a moan as sharp pain became liquid heat, consuming her whole and loosing what little control she had over her instincts. When his teeth pulled away his tongue replaced it, licking hotly over the newly reddened mark, and then Pan was growling too. “ _Mate_.”

Trunks shuddered and drew away, and they stared at each other as they breathed hard. Trunks’ arms had found their way around her waist, and Pan still had a tight grip on his hair. She bared her teeth at him and demanded, “No more running, Trunks.”

She could _feel_ his reaction to her demand, the rush of arousal surging through her not entirely her own. Trunks responded by flipping them around in the blink of an eye, shoving her against the tree and crashing his lips to hers in a furious, feral kiss. 

Her blood, her energy, her very soul _sang_ in victory. And despite all of his fears and doubts, so did his. 

When Trunks eventually broke the kiss, he sucked in a shaky breath and reached up and grabbed two handfuls of the sports bra covering Pan’s chest. Then he ripped it clean off of her, and she watched as his eyes hungrily dropped lower and raked over the newly exposed flesh. Never in her life had anyone gazed at her like _that_ , like she was the most rare and delicious delicacy in all the universe and he was a man starved. 

But when he moved to touch her, Pan grabbed his wrist and watched as his eyes snapped up to hers in surprise. She grinned. 

Pan grabbed his shoulder and shoved him down. “On your knees, boy.” He gasped when his knees hit the hard earth, gazing up at her in a mixture of awe and arousal, and she added, “I haven’t forgiven you yet.”

He groaned and leaned in close, pressing soft kisses to her belly before murmuring against her skin, “Tell me how to earn it.”

“I think you know.”

His gaze locked with hers, he trailed his lips down until they reached the waistband of her leggings. Then he took the fabric between his teeth and, never breaking eye contact, dragged it down her abdomen slowly. She bit her lip as she watched, then gasped when he let out an inhuman growl and threw his head back, tearing the leggings to shreds with his teeth alone. 

He had finally unleashed his inner animal, and the one that lived within Pan as well could not have been more pleased. 

“Good boy,” she purred before reaching down and grabbing his head, guiding his face between her thighs. “Now _eat_.”

—

While Bulla hadn’t been quite sure about the dancing thing at first, she was definitely sold now. As it turned out, being in Goten’s arms as he gently swayed her about the moonlit room and occasionally hummed sweet words into her ear was nothing short of Otherworld on Earth. 

Sometimes she rested her head against his chest and listened to the strong, rhythmic beating of his heart, and other times she looked up at him to share soft smiles that made her own heart flutter wildly in her chest. He gazed at her with such open adoration and devotion, and it was still hard to believe that any of this was even real and not just an elaborate and cruel dream. 

“Remember back when this all started?” she asked quietly as a slow acoustic ballad filled the room. “When you saw me at that bar and hit on me because you thought I was someone else?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled, dark eyes sparkling as he reminisced with her. “Kami. Feels like a lifetime ago.”

She nodded. It really did. “If you had told me that night that it would eventually lead us to all of _this…_ I never would have believed you.”

“Me either,” he mused. “Sometimes it’s still kinda hard to believe. Especially now that everyone knows.”

“Yeah… but you know, in some weird way… I kinda think it all happened the way that it was meant to. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

He smiled. “Yeah?”

She smiled back, giving a nod. He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, and she closed her eyes as he continued to slowly dance with her. Her mind began to pleasantly drift until he lowered his head a few inches and brushed her ear with his lips, murmuring a handful of lyrics to her. 

_Test of my patience_

_There's things that we'll never know_

_You sunshine, you temptress_

_My hand's at risk, I fold_

When he drew back, she looked up and gave him a curious smile. Was that how he saw her? An irresistible combination of light and dark, testing his patience and at times forcing his hand, but warming him enough to make it all worthwhile in the end. A challenge to be sure, but one that he would spend his days happy to never truly conquer. 

His lips met hers, and Bulla melted into him. She would gladly spend her life being his light, his desire, anything he ever needed her to be. It was, after all, written in the stars. 

“Goten,” she whispered as the song’s final notes washed over them, “I’m ready.”

He nodded, picking her up to carry her to his bedroom. 

—

_“Oh God, fuck_ ,” Pan gasped, riding Trunks’ face into the ground and tensing as her third orgasm washed over her. His fingertips dug painfully and perfectly into her hips and only amplified her pleasure, and when it was over she stumbled off of his face and laid back on the ground to catch her breath. 

Unsurprisingly, Trunks was on her in less than a heartbeat, sliding on top of her still fully clothed and not bothering to wipe off his face before kissing her fiercely. She didn’t mind, kissing him back just as vigorously until he pulled away and asked lowly, “Am I forgiven yet?”

She opened her eyes and met his desperate, hungry gaze, and for a moment she almost caved. The impulse to touch him and comfort him and tell him how much she loved him was overwhelming, but she reined it in. 

“You broke my heart, Trunks,” she told him bluntly. “You knew I had feelings for you and you used them to get me in bed just for revenge. _Me_. How could you do that to me?”

Regret filled his eyes, and she could feel his guilt and genuine remorse through their bond. “I… I have no excuse, Pan. I’m always gonna regret doing that more than anything else I’ve ever done in my life, but… when I threw you out the next morning I lied. I was scared of how much I wanted you - and I still am. This is all just…” He paused and closed his eyes, forcing himself to take a deep breath. “It’s too much and it scares the shit out of me but I was lying, Pan. I wanted you. I _want_ you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone. I need you.”

Her eyes stung with tears, wanting more than anything to believe him, but… “How can I trust you, after what you did? How do I know you won’t just panic again in the morning and we’ll be right back where we started?”

“... You don’t, but…” Trunks closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to hers, his features tense as he seemed to concentrate quite hard. She was going to ask him what he was doing when she gasped, her mind suddenly flooded with thoughts and feelings and memories that weren’t hers. They flashed by so fast it was hard to grab on to them and see all that she wanted to, but he made sure that she saw everything she needed to. 

First there were innocent memories of the pair of them sparring together, and Trunks admiring her strength and grit and feeling what he’d thought back then was purely platonic love for her. He considered her second only to Goten as far as his closest friends went, and he’d felt that way for years. Next came his memories of Pan coming over to his place after Bulma’s party, when he’d truly _seen_ her for the first time. He’d decided to seduce her out of a desire for revenge, yes, but he _had_ wanted her. The revenge had just been his poorly thought out rationale for it. 

And then, as a deep blush colored her cheeks, Pan watched his memory of the sex that had followed that night. She felt his surprise at his own attraction to her, his infatuation with her delectable scent, the intense pleasure he’d felt at her every touch and the buried instincts she’d stirred to life within him. The bite had felt nothing but natural, nothing but _right_ , and he had felt the same rush of bliss and euphoria that she had when his teeth had sunk in. 

He hadn’t felt an ounce of regret until the next morning, when his fear and guilt had taken hold. 

Then, as suddenly as it had all begun, Trunks retreated from her mind. Her eyes flew open and met his, finding him panting as if it had taken a significant amount of energy to pull off. 

“I don’t deserve your trust,” he admitted. “But you see the truth now. And I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you if that’s what it takes.”

She swallowed hard, reaching up and cupping his cheek with a shaky hand. “Promise me.”

“I promise,” he murmured, taking her hand and laying a gentle kiss on her inner wrist. _“I promise_.”

Tears - not the sad kind - slid down Pan’s cheeks as she pulled him down and kissed him deeply, pouring her emotions into the kiss and allowing herself to believe him. He was a private person after all, and she knew how much it had taken for him to open his mind to her like that because she could _feel_ it. 

They kissed and kissed until her tears dried and the heat between them sparked anew, leading Pan to tug at his shirt impatiently until he leaned up and whipped it off at last. She took a moment to admire him like that, his broad chest and shoulders and messy lavender hair, flushed cheeks and dilated, lust-heavy eyes, and the idea of him - of Trunks, _her_ Trunks - being this wrecked because of her was fucking unbelievable. 

She reached down and pushed his pants over his hips, far enough for his cock to spring out and brush against her belly, before wrapping her legs around his waist. “Fuck me, Trunks. Make me yours - for real this time.”

The fire in his eyes was all the answer she needed. 

—

Bulla moaned, naked and spread out on Goten’s bed underneath his equally naked form. His fingers were buried inside of her, working her gently and expertly, all while he covered her body in sweet kisses and little love bites. From her neck to her nipples to her belly, he lavished attention upon every inch of her that he could reach, all while making her squirm in anticipation of what was to come. 

She wanted his bite, but fucking his fingers and slowly dying of anticipation was intoxicating in its own almost cruel sort of way. She knew that this was the last time they’d ever do this - the biting part, anyway - and she didn’t mind Goten’s determination to take his time. 

“You’re so beautiful, Princess,” he whispered in her ear as his fingers moved faster, hitting that spot perfectly every time. “Can’t believe you’re all mine. So fucking perfect, baby.”

“More,” she mewled, wrapping her fingers around the back of his neck and thrusting up against his hand. He hummed and nipped at her earlobe with his teeth, concentrating a tiny amount of ki into his fingertips so that they vibrated within her. She gasped, her nails biting into his skin, and Goten chuckled. 

“I thought you’d like that.”

“W-where did you come up with that,” Bulla moaned, feeling her end approaching much more quickly now. 

“Been practicing.”

“On who?”

“Myself.”

He lifted his head and Bulla stared at him, unable to express how hot she found that because suddenly she was coming hard and crying his name to the heavens. She had a feeling that Goten had achieved one of his personal goals when she heard him groan _oh fuck, Kami that’s so fucking hot_ as wave after wave of ecstasy broke over her. 

And sure enough, by the time it was over, she was aware of how incredibly drenched she _and_ the bed now were. Too high on it all to be embarrassed, she sunk back into the mattress and let Goten dive down to her inner thighs to lick up as much as he could. 

“Fuck,” Goten said with an almost deliriously happy tone, “I might need a new bed after that but I don’t even care. That’s so fuckin’ hot, baby.”

She grinned and pulled him up to her, murmuring, “That thing you did with your fingers was amazing.”

“Mm,” he hummed, kissing her and letting her taste herself. “The thing you did was better.”

She giggled and slapped his shoulder lightheartedly. “No way.”

He chuckled with her, reaching up to brush her hair out of her face as he gazed down at her softly. Then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up, sitting back and then settling her in his lap. 

“Bulla,” Goten said lowly, tracing her cheekbone with his thumb. “Tell me you want this.”

“I want this,” she told him without hesitation, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I want you. And I want to be your mate.”

He kissed her softly. “You’re sure?”

She grinned. “More than I’ve ever been about anything.”

He couldn’t help but kiss her one more time. “You’re incredible, you know that?” he whispered against her lips. “I love you so fuckin’ much.”

Her heart stuttered and her eyes widened. Neither of them had ever uttered those words to each other, and Bulla had always thought that she would be the first to let them slip. Beyond her control, her eyes welled with tears and she replied shakily, “I love you, too.”

His arms tightened around her and crushed her to his chest, and he kissed her with everything he had in him. Her heart had never felt so full, and never had she felt so at home as she did in his arms. 

Goten eventually broke the kiss to trail his lips across her jaw and then down to her neck, where he gently and slowly kissed his way down to the part of her flesh that ached for his teeth. First he merely ghosted his lips over it, and then he teasingly licked along it and made her shudder. 

She didn’t think her heart had ever pounded so hard. One hand was buried in his hair and the other was on his back, her nails pressed into his skin and her ki spiking wildly as she waited for him to do it. 

He drew away a few inches to brush aside a few stray pieces of her hair, and then he nuzzled her skin with his nose and breathed her in. She felt him exhale against her, and soon thereafter he whispered, “ _Mine_.”

Then his teeth sank into her flesh, marking her as his for as long as they lived, and Bulla gasped as the sharp pain quickly became something she couldn’t even put into words. Unlike the accidental first time, this time they knew what they were doing and what it meant, both of them feeling the true weight and significance of the bite, and it made all the difference. 

This time around, with their bond having already grown so much more than it had the first time, she could _feel_ the shift that took place between them and the way that their souls joined in ways that even fusion couldn’t rival. It was an exhilarating, otherworldly experience, and after Goten licked over the bite to soothe it, he raised his head and met Bulla’s gaze as they stared at each other in wonder. 

Neither said a word, because words couldn’t really do the moment justice. Instead, when their mutual need became too much, their lips crashed together in a frenzied kiss and the two of them set about celebrating their newly sealed bond the _right_ way. 

It was only seconds later that Bulla shifted in his lap and sunk down on his cock, taking in every inch of him and riding him like his life depended on it. It was frantic from the start, neither of them able to get close enough fast enough, Goten’s hands and lips all over her while she let go of her every last inhibition and fucked herself wildly on his cock. 

“Goten,” she gasped, “harder, God, give me more.”

He responded with a growl and powered up to Super Saiyan, and she cried out in bliss - it was exactly what she’d needed. He held her still with his hands on her hips and fucked up into her, hitting so deep and fast and merciless she knew she’d be sore in the morning, but it was what they both needed. 

When they were both edging towards that blissful precipice, Goten licked at her newly formed mating bite and groaned, “You’re so perfect, Princess. _My_ Princess.”

She whimpered, clutching him harder. “Don’t stop, don’t stop. I want you to come hard, fill me up.”

“I will, baby,” he moaned in reply, sharing a brief and filthy open-mouthed kiss with her. “You love it, don’t you? Love feeling _your mate’s_ come dripping down your thighs, smelling like me all day, thinking about the next time I’m gonna fill you up, huh?”

Bulla was nearly out of her mind at this point, his words and body and their bond sending her flying so high that she could no longer form coherent words. But that was okay, because soon she was trembling and her body tightening on him like a vice as she began to let go. 

“That’s right, Princess,” Goten whispered against her lips, “come for me, _mate_.”

Once it started, it felt like an eternity passed until it stopped. Bulla lost nearly all sense of time and reality, too caught up in the bliss and the shockingly intense waves of pleasure to be aware of anything _but_ it, and that was okay - with Goten, she would always be safe enough to lose herself and able to trust him to see her through anything. 

When it was finally over and she was more exhausted than she’d been in _months_ , she and Goten both flopped down on the bed but neither left the other’s arms. Instead they stayed close and slowly caught their breath, eventually opening their eyes and turning to grin happily and sleepily at each other. 

Then Goten shifted them and took her fully into his arms, wrapping her up and nuzzling her mark with a contented sigh. He placed a gentle kiss on it and murmured, “I love you Princess.”

She smiled, hardly able to believe that it was even possible to be _this_ happy. “I love you too.”

Some miles away, Trunks had flown Pan to his apartment after ravishing her in the wilderness and carried her into his shower to wash her clean and tend to the minor scrapes they’d both gotten in the process. Afterwards he took her to bed and held her until they both fell asleep, his nose pressed to her mark and their spirits finally at ease. 

At long last, for both couples, everything was as it was meant to be. 

  
  



	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, finally got a new chapter done! Sorry for the wait, guys, I had to regroup and figure out wtf to do with the rest of this fic 😂 So, I do think that we’re nearing the end of this story, and I think I’ll probably wrap it up in a few more chapters. Unless, of course, some new idea comes to me and delays the end, but only time will tell 😂 in any case I have been blown away by the response to this story (and the ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE art for it made by PandaCapuccino and AuroraLynne - check out their Patreons here and here , they are both absolutely incredible and not only immensely talented but super sweet 😍) and I hope I’m able to give it an ending that’ll do it justice. And I’ve fallen so in love with the pairings here that this definitely won’t be the only fic I write for them 💜

Trunks awoke the next morning to soft, dark hair tickling his nose, and the warm, comforting scent of his mate making him feel more at ease than he’d ever been in all his life. 

He let out a deep breath and opened his eyes as he wrapped his arms tighter around her, admiring how peaceful and beautiful Pan looked as she slept. The bruises they’d each gained from their fight the night before were already healed, but the mating bite that he’d refreshed with his teeth was still dark and perfect on her neck. He gazed at it for a moment, finding it absolutely beautiful, and then he leaned forward and pressed his nose to it and inhaled. Just like before, complete peace and serenity washed over him like a drug, and he nearly fell back asleep. 

But a nagging sense of guilt in the back of his head kept him awake. Just because he’d given into the bond and the inevitability of it all didn’t mean that he was magically 100% fine with it all now and no longer felt like a sick piece of shit for being suddenly and passionately attracted to a much younger woman he’d considered something of a little sister his entire life. 

Goten had said during Bulma’s debacle of a birthday party that he’d struggled with his own bond with Bulla and the age difference between them, and at the time Trunks had thought that was complete bullshit and that Goten was just saying whatever he could to justify preying on Trunks’ baby sister. But now Trunks had experienced it himself, and he couldn’t dismiss Goten’s words so easily. 

And that was problem, because he desperately wanted to hold on to that anger and betrayal and hate Goten forever, because lifelong best friends and soulmates just  _ don’t _ fuck each other’s younger siblings behind their backs for months and expect to be forgiven because weird Saiyan magic or some shit made them do it. 

But now the shoe was on the other foot - permanently - and Trunks had to decide how to move forward from this point on. 

Then again, Goten would have to wait. Before Trunks could even think about hashing things out with him, he needed to worry about how  _ Gohan _ was going to handle all of this. 

Suppressing a groan at the mere thought and closing his eyes, Trunks pressed his nose back to the bite on Pan’s neck and let it relax him all over again. It was far easier to focus on her and the strange, magnetic pull between them, and the way that she made him feel. It was still so new and thinking of her in such a way was foreign and surreal, but he couldn’t convince himself that it was all the bond, either. It didn’t feel that way. It felt more like the scales falling from his eyes and finally allowing him to see what had already been right in front of him. 

He held Pan a little tighter and sighed, pressing a soft little kiss to the bite. He could hardly put into words what his newly awakened instincts were doing to him. All at once he wanted to feed her, bathe her, protect her, kiss her senseless, fuck her until she forgot her own name and then spend the rest of the day lying with her in bed, dozing off and on and holding her close with their tails entwined. 

His eyes popped open at that last thought. He’d never had a tail and neither had Pan.  _ How fucking weird.  _

Not long afterwards, Pan stirred awake and turned in his arms to smile up at him sleepily. He smiled back and stroked her cheek, and she sighed, “So last night was real after all?”

He smirked and ran his fingers through her hair. “Looks that way.”

“And you’re not gonna panic and throw me out again like the first time?” 

_ Ouch _ . He deserved that, though, and he had a feeling it would be an uphill battle to win back her trust. “Not this time.” He proved it by leaning in and pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. 

When he pulled away, her cheeks were lightly flushed and her eyes warm as she gazed into his. She reached up and brushed away a few stray pieces of his lavender hair from his eyes, and though her lips never moved, Trunks heard her voice in his head marvel,  _ God he’s so beautiful.  _

Though he wasn’t quite sure what had just happened, Trunks grinned and replied, “You think so?”

Pan blinked, her hand freezing on his cheek. “... Did… you just hear that?” When Trunks nodded, her blush deepened and she sighed, “Bulla said that would happen eventually.”

Huh. Interesting. Deciding to test this new connection, Trunks focused for a moment and then reached out to Pan silently.  _ Can you hear me? _

Pan smiled brightly.  _ Yep. Clear as day.  _

Trunks’ responding smile quickly grew mischievous.  _ Oh, I’m gonna have fun with this. I can say anything I want to you in front of anyone and they’ll never know, will they? _

Pan squirmed in his arms and rolled his eyes. “Oh, of course your brain would immediately go  _ there _ .”

Trunks chuckled, shifting to verbal communication along with her. “I can’t help it. You’re so warm and you smell so good, and you’re laying in my bed wearing nothing but my shirt. Where  _ else _ is my head supposed to be?”

“I can think of where I’d like your head to be right now,” she replied with her own little devious grin, and suddenly Trunks could see a clear image of himself buried between her legs, feasting upon her as she gripped at his hair and moaned in ecstasy. He blinked when the image dissipated, finding Pan smirking at him. “See, that’s even more fun than talking telepathically.”

“Dirty little thing, aren’t you,” Trunks murmured, moving over her and kissing her soundly. She returned his kiss with enthusiasm, and when Trunks pulled away it was only to start kissing his way down her neck and reach down to tug up the old worn t-shirt of his that she was wearing. He pushed it up and over her breasts, then moved down lower to kiss all over them and suck a nipple into his mouth. She hissed and arched up into his mouth, and he glanced up to her and spoke between their minds,  _ love these pretty tits. I could suck on them all day _ .  _ I wonder if I could get you to come from that alone… _

Pan groaned, biting her lip and sliding her hand into Trunks’ hair to gently push at his head.  _ Stop teasing me, Trunks. You know what I want _ .

He chuckled and complied, kissing down the soft skin of her belly. “Impatient.”

“Tease,” she shot back, watching as Trunks settled between her legs and pushed her thighs further apart. 

“ _ Should _ I tease you?” he wondered aloud, nipping lightly at her inner thigh. “Maybe I ought to teach you some patience.”

“Not today,” she replied, taking his head and shoving him face-first to her core. 

He laughed against her flesh, giving in and taking a long, languid taste of her.  _ As you wish, mate _ . 

Pan smiled and let out a long sigh, bringing her own hands to her breasts and squeezing lightly as Trunks at last gave her what she wanted. Trunks groaned and happily lost himself in her, her scent and taste making his head spin and heart swell with pride because this impatient, fiery little creature was  _ all his.  _ He didn’t realize that he was whispering the word  _ mine _ over and over into her mind as he slowly devoured her, at least not until she whispered back  _ yours _ and sent a tingle of pleasure down his spine. 

Trunks was sucking gently at her clit and making Pan shudder and moan in delight when a telltale  _ pop _ noise made his eyes dart to the right of the bed. He then made a sound of alarm and Pan screeched in abject horror, yanking her shirt down and quickly burying Trunks under his blanket as her newly arrived grandfather stood there in the middle of the room blinking innocently. 

“Grandpa!!” Pan yelled, her face strawberry-red. “What the hell are you doing?! Get out!”

“I - crap, sorry!” Goku giggled nervously, hand flying to the back of his head. “I really need to stop doing this.”

“Yes you do!” she yelled back as Trunks laid his covered head on her thigh and groaned miserably. “Why are you even here?!”

“Chi-Chi wanted me to check on you and see if you were still sick, but I guess you’re all better,” Goku smiled weakly. “Hi, Trunks.”

Trunks, mortified, lifted a hand out of the blanket and waved. Pan squeaked and quickly threw the cover back over his hand, as if the cat wasn’t already  _ way _ out of the bag. 

“Anyway, you seem fine so I guess I’ll go!”

“Wait,” Pan blurted, and Goku stopped just before his fingertips touched his forehead. “Don’t - don’t tell my dad, okay? Him and my mom don’t know yet and I don’t know how they’ll react, so…”

“No problem! I won’t tell anyone, and you can trust me - I kept Goten and Bulla a secret for months. Wasn’t easy, but I did it.” Then he chuckled and raised his fingers back to his forehead. “Later, guys!”

Then he vanished, and Pan groaned and flopped down on her back in despair. Trunks flung the blanket off of his head and sighed, “Well that was a mood-killer.”

Pan smothered her face with her hands. “I have never been more humiliated in my entire life. I might die.”

“Yeah, that was pretty bad,” Trunks agreed, climbing back up the bed and laying next to her. “You’d think he’d know better by this point. I know he’s walked in on my parents at  _ least _ twice.”

“It’s  _ Grandpa _ ,” Pan muttered. “He never learns.”

Trunks hummed and crossed his arms behind his head, the pair falling silent for a few moments. Then he glanced over to Pan, running his eyes down her figure before asking, “So… did that kill the mood completely for you, or…”

She huffed, glaring at the ceiling. “Yes.”

He paused. “... You sure I can’t change your mind?”

Pan then whipped her head to the side and fixed a withering glare on her mate, who immediately laughed and held up his hands in surrender. But Pan’s expression quickly shifted to alarmed confusion, and she sprang up to a sitting position as Trunks watched in concern. 

“You okay?”

Pan furrowed her brows and closed her eyes, and Trunks sat up to take a closer look at her. His concern grew when her eyes flew open and she suddenly went pale. 

“I can’t go Super.”

Trunks blinked. “What?”

She looked at him, her eyes wide and scared. “I tried to go Super Saiyan just now, just to play around, but it didn’t work and it still isn’t. I can’t even raise my ki.”

“What?” Trunks repeated dumbly, the mere concept of what she was saying proving absurd. She’d been able to go Super Saiyan for nearly a decade now - and Trunks had been the one to push her there for the first time - and her ki control was excellent. He reached out and placed his palm to her forehead, checking for a fever since illness could sometimes screw with ki, but she wasn’t feverish in the least. “Your ki  _ does _ feel low… do you feel sick at all?”

“No, I feel fine, I just… oh Kami, what if… did the bond do this? Am I broken now?!”

Trunks could feel her distress growing at an exponential rate, and he instinctively wrapped an arm around her to help calm her down. “You’re not broken, Pan. Just breathe, we’ll figure it out.” When that didn’t stop her from continuing to spiral, Trunks leaned and pressed his nose to her bite mark, forcing a wave of tranquility through them both. 

Pan sagged against him, momentarily relaxed in his arms. “... We need your dad. Maybe he’ll know what’s going on.”

Trunks frowned, not wanting to go anywhere near Capsule Corp or anyone in his family for the time being, but… Pan was right and he knew it. And she was his mate now and the most important thing to him in the entire world, and protecting her and keeping her safe was far more important than any grudges he currently held. 

“Okay,” he breathed, kissing her temple. “Let’s go.”

—

In the gravity room, Bulla stood at her father’s side and smirked as she shifted into her fighting stance, which was a mirror image of Vegeta’s. In front of them, Goten panted and wobbled a bit on his feet, bleeding from his eyebrow and sporting more than a few bruises. 

“You’re both enjoying this way too much,” Goten pointed out, though he took a deep breath and readied himself anyway. 

Bulla grinned. “Hey, you asked for it. And you specifically asked for us to go all out.”

“As if we’d ever go easy on you,” Vegeta grinned at Goten. “Now stay on your toes, boy, and remember to keep your guard up.”

Goten nodded, then let out a yell as he shot forward and attacked. They had been at this for hours and Bulla was having a damn ball, the simple act of sparring with her father and her mate making her happy on levels she’d never even known existed. To have spent so long fearing that Vegeta would never accept Goten and that their relationship would tear them apart, and now to watch Vegeta and Goten not only get along astonishingly well but spend hours almost every single day training together - it was incredible. 

She just wished that Trunks wasn’t such a different story. But she had hope that things with him would mend over time, especially now that he was taking a walk in Goten’s shoes when it came to Saiyan mating bonds. 

The trio were lost in a flurry of inhumanly quick movements and brutal kicks and punches when the gravity suddenly returned to normal and the door creaked open. Bulla ran the back of her hand over her sweaty brow and Vegeta growled in annoyance, barking, “Woman, if you’re interrupting my training  _ again _ -“

“It’s me,” came Trunks’ voice as he stepped into view, Pan at his side, and Bulla blinked in surprise. Next to her, Goten froze. 

Trunks’ eyes landed on Goten and he didn’t hide the animosity in his glare as he stared him down. Goten didn’t flinch, and Bulla told him through their telepathic connection,  _ stay calm. If he’s a dick just ignore him. _

Goten’s eyes flickered to her.  _ Should I go?  _

_ No. You have every right to be here and he needs to get used to it.  _

“And what do you want?” Vegeta asked, crossing his arms. “This better be good.”

“Something’s wrong with Pan’s ki,” Trunks said, stepping closer to his father. “We thought you might have an idea what’s going on.”

Vegeta looked the pair over, his eyes pausing on Pan and her visibly frightened face. “And?”

“I can’t go Super, or even raise my ki at all,” Pan explained. “I can still fly, but slowly. It’s been like this since I woke up today and I don’t know why. Nothing happened, besides -“

“Besides the two of you finally giving into the bond,” Vegeta finished for her, which brought a blush to her cheeks. 

Bulla caught Pan’s eyes and winked at her with a thumb’s up. Pan went even redder and bit her lip to keep from smiling. 

“Bonds only make Saiyans stronger,” Vegeta shrugged. “I don’t know why this would be happening to you.”

“Seriously?” Trunks snapped. “If you don’t know, who the hell will?”

“Watch your tongue, boy,” Vegeta hissed. “I’m not a damn Saiyan encyclopedia. Our planet was destroyed when I was five, and my ‘mentor’ was an imbecile. It’s a miracle I know as much as I do.”

As her father and brother bickered, Bulla tuned them out and focused on Pan instead. Her ki did feel strange, definitely lower than usual as if she were trying to suppress it, but that wasn’t all. There was something else strange about it, and Bulla couldn’t quite put her finger on it. It was something foreign, something that didn’t quite feel like  _ Pan _ , but that didn’t make any sense because - 

Bulla froze, her eyes going wide.  _ Oh shit.  _

“Pan,” she marched up to her best friend and took her by the hand, leaving no room for argument. “Come with me.”

“What? But -“

“Now,” Bulla added, already dragging her away. “Be right back, guys.”

Once they were out of the gravity chamber with the door shut behind them, Bulla started marching Pan towards her bedroom one floor down. 

“Bulla, what the hell?” Pan hissed, staring at Bulla like she’d officially lost her marbles. 

“Just be quiet,” Bulla muttered. “I’ll explain once we get to my room.”

Pan grumbled but went along with her anyway, not really seeing any other options. Once they were in Bulla’s room, she shut the door behind them and left Pan standing there in confusion as she disappeared into the bathroom and starting digging into the cabinet beneath her sink. She found what she was looking for fairly quickly, grabbing the item and standing up and whirling around to find Pan leaning in the doorway and watching her in bewilderment. 

“Here,” Bulla said, handing it over to Pan. “Take this.”

Pan looked down at the thin, long white thing that was now in her palm, and her eyes bulged as she realized what it was. “This is a pregnancy test.”

Bulla nodded. “After I broke up with Goten I was a little late for a period so I took a few tests just to be sure. I’ve got a bunch leftover, so that’s why I have that.”

Pan stared at Bulla, even paler than she was before. “You think I’m pregnant?”

“I think it’s possible. You’re not on birth control and you’ve slept with my brother a few times now. And now your ki feels weird and you can’t power up - could be your body’s way of protecting a fetus.”

Pan blinked. “But… wouldn’t it be too soon to take a test anyway? It hasn’t even been a week yet, and -“

“Yeah, but you’re part Saiyan - you might have more of the hormone that those tests pick up on than the average human woman. Look, just pee on the damn stick, okay? If it’s negative then we’ll go from there.”

Pan huffed but nodded, walking into the bathroom as Bulla walked out. Bulla paced around her room as she waited, chewing on her thumbnail and hoping her suspicions would prove false. An unintended pregnancy would make Pan and Trunks’ already chaotic situation that much more complicated, and she didn’t even wanna think about how  _ Gohan _ would take not one but two completely unexpected bombshells. 

Pan emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, telling Bulla, “I can’t look at it. The test is on the counter - you can look.”

Bulla nodded, then laid a hand on Pan’s shoulder. “Hey - whatever happens, it’ll be okay. We’ll figure it out, and remember, even if it’s positive, you have options.”

Pan grimaced but nodded anyway. “Yeah. I just… I can’t even fathom it.”

“Well… let me go look at the test, okay?” Bulla replied softly. “It’ll probably be negative and then we’ll be able to laugh about this later.”

Pan nodded again, and Bulla gave her a tight smile before turning and heading into the bathroom. Despite her encouraging words, her gut was telling her another story. She tried to ignore that, however, and braced herself as she approached the counter and peered down at the unassuming little pregnancy test sitting atop it. 

She let out an audible gasp. Two bright pink lines sat where there should only be one. She clapped a hand over her mouth, her shock intense enough that Goten felt it through their connection. 

_ You okay? _

_ I’m fine _ , Bulla replied.  _ Just dealing with something.  _

Pan was gonna absolutely  _ flip _ . Now Bulla had to tell her that she really  _ was _ pregnant, and she didn’t even know where to begin. 

But as it turned out, she didn’t need to break the news after all. Pan had let her curiosity get the best of her and was now right behind Bulla. She stood on her tiptoes and looked over Bulla’s shoulder, peeking at the test and immediately going dizzy from shock. 

“Oh my God,  _ oh my God, _ ” Pan gasped, going white as a sheet and hitting the floor - or she would have, at least, had Bulla not turned and caught her with the aid of her god-level sharp senses and speed. 

“Hey hey, it’s okay,” Bulla told her, picking up her best friend and carrying her out of the bathroom and to her bed. Pan held on to her tight and broke out into harsh sobs, the sound grating at Bulla’s heart as she sat them down and wrapped her arms around Pan. 

What could she even say to her that could possibly help? Pan had already had the most intense and emotional week of her young life, and now it had just gone to another level entirely. First Trunks had seduced her out of malicious intent, then bonded her to him for life in the same night only to reject her the next morning and kick off several days of utterly horrific torture as they each fought the bond tooth and nail. And now, not even 24 hours after coming to terms with it all, Pan was now pregnant with Trunks’ child. 

It was just too much. 

“What am I gonna do, Bulla?” Pan asked, wiping at her eyes. “I’m only 21, I’m not even done with college yet. I can’t have a baby! I… my parents don’t even know about Trunks yet.”

“Just… take it all one thing at a time,” Bulla told her softly, petting her hair. “You don’t have to make any decisions right now. Just breathe. We’ll figure it o-“

The door burst open violently and suddenly Trunks was right there in front of them, golden-haired and panicked as he roared, “ _ Who hurt my mate?” _

Bulla lowered her brows and scowled at him as Pan gasped and stared at Trunks in both awe and slight fear. “She’s not hurt,” Bulla hissed warningly. “Stand down, Trunks. You’re only gonna stress her out more.”

Trunks glared at Bulla but powered down, immediately kneeling in front of the bed and opening his arms for Pan. She went to him with another soft sob, and Trunks kissed her temple before gathering her up and whispering sweet nothings in her ear, then pressing his nose to her bite and immediately calming her down. 

Bulla watched with a small smile, impressed by how naturally Trunks was coming into his role as Pan’s mate despite his more than rocky start. As Pan snuggled close to Trunks and took comfort in him, Bulla glanced over to her doorway and saw Bulma dressed in her work gear walking in with a slightly annoyed but mostly worried expression. 

“What on earth is going on in h-“ 

Bulma stopped short when she saw her son sitting on the floor cradling a teary, puffy-faced Pan to his chest. Bulla got up from her bed and motioned for her mother to stay quiet, then walked out and softly closed the door behind her. 

Goten was in the hallway too, just behind Bulma, and Vegeta wasn’t far away either, though he was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and staring off in his usual angry way. 

“Is Pan okay? What’s going on?” Bulma asked. 

“She’s fine,” Bulla replied, glancing to Goten too. “I… can’t really say more. She will when she’s ready, I guess.”

Vegeta snorted. “I knew it.”

Bulma’s eyes shot to his. “Knew what?”

“Bulla pieced it together before I did, but it’s obvious.”

“What’s obvious?” Goten asked cluelessly. 

“The girl is pregnant,” Vegeta stated plainly. 

Goten’s jaw hit the floor, but Bulma merely sighed and dragged her hand over her face. “I was afraid of this.”

“Pan is  _ pregnant _ ?” Goten exclaimed, earning a swat from Bulla and a hissed  _ shhh!  _

“Great,” Bulma muttered. “Gohan and Videl don’t even know about them yet, do they?” Bulla shook her head, and Bulma groaned. “What a mess. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m more than ready for a grandbaby but man, these are not ideal circumstances.”

Vegeta  _ hmphed _ . “Perhaps not from a human point of view, but from a Saiyan perspective this is  _ entirely _ ideal. Trunks found his mate, marked her and bred her - that is how it is  _ meant _ to be.”

Bulla made a face. “ _ Bred _ ? Papa, gross.”

“Seriously,” Bulma agreed, putting her hands on her hips. “And I doubt you’d have appreciated it if Goten had gone that route with Bulla.”

Goten went red and rubbed at the back of his head, clearly uncomfortable at that particular turn of the conversation. 

“Regardless, that is the Saiyan way,” Vegeta shrugged. 

“But we’re not fully Saiyan, Papa,” Bulla replied. “This is complicated for us, and especially for Pan.”

Vegeta shrugged again and turned to walk away. “That’s not my problem. They can figure it out for themselves. If either of them want to talk, they know where to find me.”

Bulma rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay. Always so helpful.”

Bulla took a deep breath and glanced towards her door. “Let’s go have some tea or something and give them their space. Nothing we can do from out here.”

“Good call,” Bulma nodded. “Kami, I already feel a headache brewing.”

After Bulma walked off towards the kitchen, Goten took Bulla’s hand in his and kissed her cheek. She smiled up at him and they began to follow Bulma but from far enough behind that they could talk without her overhearing. 

“This is definitely not how I thought our training for the day would turn out,” Goten sighed. “I feel so bad for them. Trunks must be freaking out.”

“Yeah,” Bulla sighed. “I definitely don’t envy them right now.”

—

Not long after getting the tea on the table, Bulma’s cell rang and she had to step away to take an important work call. Now left alone for the first time all day, Goten and Bulla sat next to each other lost in thought until Goten spoke up first about something that he couldn’t quite shake from his mind. 

“So, um… do you want kids someday?”

Bulla’s eyes shot up, not having quite expected  _ that _ . But now that she thought of it, she shouldn’t have been surprised that Goten’s thoughts had veered  _ there _ . “Oh. Uh… yeah, I do. Someday. Definitely not anytime soon, especially now that I know I won’t be able to power up for the entire nine months.”

“Yeah, that’s crazy,” Goten agreed, scratching at the back of his neck. “I was just wondering, since… we haven’t really talked about that yet.”

Bulla smiled. “What about you?”

“Oh yeah,” Goten smiled back. “I definitely want kids. Lots of kids. Well, not - not  _ lots _ of kids, I just mean… more than one, you know.”

Bulla giggled, finding him adorable as he stumbled over his words. “You really love kids, huh?”

“Yeah,” Goten admitted softly. “I always have. Before you, I was actually starting to worry that I’d never settle down and find the right person to have kids with. So… it’s nice to not worry about that anymore.”

Bulla smirked, tilting her head and slipping her hand to his leg under the table. “I bet. You probably like the idea of  _ breeding _ me, don’t you?”

Goten gulped. “That… that shouldn’t be hot, but it… kind of is.”

_ Think so?  _ she asked telepathically, her voice in his head making him jump a little.  _ You like the idea of holding me down and filling me up, putting your baby in me? _

Goten’s jaw tightened and he glared at her softly.  _ Princess, you’re gonna get me all hot and bothered right here in the middle of your fucking dining room in the middle of the day. _

Bulla only grinned and slid her hand further up, creeping up his inner thigh.  _ Aw, I’m sorry, baby. I’d hate for the idea of me being all big and pregnant with your baby to turn you on and get you hard right here where my parents could walk in at any minute… _

Goten squirmed and reached down to still her hand as his glare darkened.  _ Keep it up, you fucking tease, and see what happens.  _

Her brows shot up in delight.  _ Oooh… you gonna punish me, Daddy? _

Goten’s jaw dropped. Bulla froze, having only said that because they were talking about potential kids that would, in fact, make Goten a father, and given the way that the conversation was going it seemed like the natural thing to say. But now that the words were out, she panicked slightly and hoped that she hadn’t just accidentally repulsed him or made things weird. 

Thankfully, it soon became clear that she had done nothing of the sort. 

Goten’s hand shot out and buried itself in Bulla’s hair, pulling her closer to him as he leaned in and dragged his lips along her bite mark. She shivered as he kissed just under her ear and then murmured into it, “Careful, Princess.You might just wake up a monster.”

Bulla shuddered and turned to look him in the eyes, her stomach flipping when she saw the intense arousal within them. She grinned and replied lowly, “Maybe I like monsters.”

He leaned in and was about to start kissing her senseless when Bulla’s least favorite noise - Goku’s instant transmission  _ pop _ \- made them jump apart and instantly doused cold water all over the mood. Then Bulla’s heart dropped when she saw who Goku had brought with him. 

“Where’s Pan?” Gohan asked, his worry and slight anger rolling off of him in waves. “I’m not stupid - I know she’s here and I want to know what everyone’s trying to hide from me.”

Goku gave Bulla and Goten an apologetic grimace, and Bulla sighed. 

Well. This was going to go  _ just _ swimmingly. 


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I finished this chapter way earlier than I anticipated, so yay me! 😂 Also I planned initially for this to have a full length Bulla/Goten sex scene but it just didn’t pan out that way SO, it’ll be in the next chapter (I promise lol). In fact, after these last two angsty chapters, the next one might just be wall to wall smut, just because. Lol. Anyway, thank you to you awesome readers as always, I love you guys so much and I hope you like this!

Trunks blinked, his entire world grinding to a halt as he processed the third major shock of his life in just the last week alone. His eyes were locked on those of his mate, her watery dark eyes full of the same fear that he could palpably feel through their bond. She was terrified of how he was going to react to the bombshell she’d just dropped on him. 

“You’re pregnant,” Trunks repeated softly, the concept becoming a little more real as he spoke the words. 

She nodded. “I don’t - I don’t know how the test could already be positive, it doesn’t really make sense, but… it explains why my ki is messed up.”

“You’re pregnant,” Trunks murmured again, his eyes drifting down to her belly. He placed a shaky palm over it through her shirt, and he closed his eyes as he tried to feel for the baby’s minute ki. 

Rather than feeling a new, individual ki - it was so incredibly early, too early for that - he could feel the difference in Pan’s. It was lower than it had been before, to be sure, but it was also warmer now, softer, while still having Pan’s distinct  _ flavor _ so to speak. It washed over him, and he knew without a doubt somehow that it was true. Pan really was pregnant with their child. 

It should have terrified him. Maybe even pissed him off a little, since he’d never bothered to use condoms with her once and he had only himself to blame. But instead, against all reason, his instincts  _ purred _ with happiness and satisfaction, and he could help but look up at Pan and give her a warm, genuine smile. 

“You’re  _ pregnant _ ,” he sighed, pressing his forehead to hers as she stared up at him in deep surprise. “We’re gonna have a  _ baby _ .”

“... You’re not mad?” she asked timidly, her body tensed as if braced for a  _ terrible _ reaction from him. 

“Mad? Fuck, no,” he chuckled, kissing both of her cheeks and then her lips. “I know it sounds crazy and it’s probably my Saiyan shit but I feel like I could cry I’m so happy.”

Her eyes widened and filled with tears of her own, her lips stretching into a tentative smile. “ _ Really _ ? You mean that, Trunks?  _ Please _ don’t lie to me, not about this.”

“I’m not lying, I promise,” he assured her, nuzzling against her mark and making her body relax in his arms. “It feels…  _ right _ .  _ You _ feel right. I fought this bond so hard but… I can’t anymore. I don’t want to. I want you and I want a family with you.”

Pan laughed softly through a small sob, overcome with emotions that slithered through his own and wrapped around him like a warm sweater. She hugged him tightly and confessed, “I thought you’d hate me and blame me. I was so scared.”

“Shhh,” he whispered, kissing her temple and running his fingers through her hair. “I could never hate you, Pan. Or our baby.”

She laughed again, tears streaming down her cheeks. “God that sounds so weird. Our  _ baby _ .”

Trunks was about to chuckle back and reply when the bedroom door suddenly flew off its hinges and exploded into countless tiny pieces. Trunks, driven by the ancient instincts that Pan had brought to life within him, powered up to Super Saiyan 3 in an instant and rapidly but carefully threw Pan behind him to protect her as he faced their attacker head on. 

But their attacker was no attacker at all - it was Gohan, who was standing in the doorway and trembling with poorly hidden rage as his ki began to roll off of him like steam. 

“ _ You _ ,” Gohan growled, fists clenched at his sides and hair swaying as his power began to spike, “ _ mated my daughter and got her pregnant?!” _

Trunks growled right back, and it was an animalistic sound that had never come out of him before. “She’s  _ mine _ . Stay away from us.”

Pan peered over Trunks’ shoulder, her gaze pleading as she looked at her father and begged, “Please, Dad, don’t freak out. It’s okay, I wanted this! You did the research, you know how this works!”

But Gohan was struggling with the blinding rage seeping out of his bones, and Trunks was quickly losing himself to his own instincts as they screamed at him to eliminate all threats to his mate, their bond, and their baby - even if that threat was Pan’s own father. The two men seethed and stared each other down, the floor beneath them starting to shake as their power surged and crackled all around them, but thankfully, that was when the others finally arrived to intervene. 

—

“Eschalotte,” Vegeta told Bulla hurriedly as they raced to her room, “if it comes down to it, you take out Trunks and I’ll handle Gohan. They’ll rip this place apart if they start fighting.”

Bulla nodded, then tossed a glare at Goku as he ran beside them. “Did you  _ really _ have to bring him here like this? And where is Videl?”

“Oh yeah,” Goku blinked, “I should grab her.” He pressed his fingers to his forehead and vanished. 

Bulla groaned. “What a clown.”

Vegeta chuckled approvingly, and Goten didn’t even have it in him to defend his father. The trio rounded the corner and then they arrived at Bulla’s bedroom, where Gohan was still in the doorway and the walls around him were starting to crack. 

“Oh hell no,” Bulla said, her hair standing and flashing deep blue as she ascended to one of her highest transformations. “You guys are  _ not _ destroying my room.”

“Stay out of this,” Gohan shouted without looking their way, his eyes still focused on Trunks alone. 

“ _ She’s mine!”  _ Bulla heard Trunks scream back, and she rolled her eyes and looked to her father. He briefly met her gaze, and she knew they were on the same page. This could be  _ bad _ .

Then Goku popped back at their sides, this time with Videl holding on to his shoulder. She blinked in confusion and looked around before freezing at the sight of her husband on the verge of losing it. “ _ Gohan _ !”

Gohan flinched but otherwise didn’t budge. Bulla glanced at Videl and noticed a fresh, unmistakably deep bite mark on the side of her neck - Gohan must have finally mated her, possibly on the same night that Goten had finally mated Bulla. 

Her eyes flickered to Vegeta’s again, and he had noticed the bite too. They shared a nod, and then Bulla grabbed Videl’s hand and told her, “Videl, quick - you need to distract Gohan before he goes berserk. Just get his attention and me and my dad will take care of the rest.”

Videl nodded, though she clearly had no idea what was happening. She walked up behind Gohan without a shred of fear, placing her hand carefully on the back of his shoulder and softly calling his name. He ignored her at first, but then she swallowed and, a little self-consciously, leaned in closer and whispered, “ _ Mate _ .”

_ That _ did the trick. Gohan’s eyes went wide and his ki began to fracture, but that was another danger in itself - an unstable Gohan was the most dangerous Gohan. 

“Come on, Gohan. It’s okay. Calm down. Pan’s right there - you don’t want to accidentally hurt her.”

Once his guard was down far enough, Bulla shot forward and grabbed Videl, flying them both across the hallway to safety while Vegeta simultaneously powered up to his peak and swung hard at the back of Gohan’s neck. Videl cried out in shock as Gohan’s power dissipated and he crumpled to the ground, but Bulla was quick to assure her, “He’s fine - he’s just knocked out.”

With Gohan taken care of, Vegeta turned to Trunks. “Stand down, Trunks - your mate is safe and so is your child.”

It took him a moment but Trunks’ eyes regained their usual clarity and he powered back down to his base form. Everyone present breathed a sigh of relief, including Bulma who had arrived on the scene just before Videl had. 

“Vegeta,” Bulma said, frowning down at Gohan’s unconscious figure, “ki cuffs?”

Vegeta grunted in assent. “Kakarot, carry him to the gravity room. Trunks, stay with Bulla and Goten. Pan, you’re coming with us.”

As Goku picked up his eldest son, Trunks immediately began protesting. “I go where she goes or she doesn’t go at all.”

Vegeta rolled his eyes. “Your presence will only set Gohan off again.”

“But -“

“It’s okay, Trunks,” Pan assured him, gently taking his hand. “It’s just my dad. It’s not like he’s gonna hurt me.”

“He will be cuffed until I’m convinced he won’t blow up my house,” Vegeta nodded. 

Trunks looked at Pan in mild agony. “Pan, I -“

She wrapped her arms around him and gently tugged him down to breathe in her mark, relaxing him in an instant. “It’s okay. I’m okay. If I need you, I’ll call for you.”

Trunks let out a deep sigh and finally relented, lifting his head to give her a lingering kiss. 

Next to Bulla, Videl’s jaw hit the floor. “Okay… what the hell is going on? And whose child was Vegeta talking about?”

Pan sighed and pulled away from Trunks, eyeing her mother guiltily as she approached her. “I, uh… I have a lot to tell you, Mom.”

“You can talk in the gravity room,” Vegeta interjected. “Go. And you,” he glared at Trunks. “ _ Stay _ .”

Against the odds, Trunks did in fact stay while the others left. Soon it was just him, Bulla, and Goten left, and now that the adrenaline rush had subsided, Bulla suddenly realized just how awkward her little trio was. 

“Sooo… uh… congrats?” she grinned at Trunks. He gave her a mildly withering look, then glared at Goten as if to make sure he was still well aware that Trunks hated his guts. She sighed. “Well this is gonna be fun.”

—

Roughly 20 minutes later, Gohan was sitting with his back to the gravity room’s control panel and his arms bound behind him in a ki cuff around a small portion of the panel. It was the single strongest and most durable piece of machinery in all of Capsule Corp, due to Vegeta having blown it up more times than Bulma cared to count. Now it was virtually indestructible and strong enough to keep even an enraged Gohan bound to it. 

“I’m gonna kill him,” Gohan seethed. 

Vegeta rolled his eyes, arms crossed. “No you’re not, and you know it.” 

Gohan bared his teeth at Vegeta and growled, and Vegeta only grew even more bored-looking. Behind them, sitting on the floor, was Pan and Videl, and Goku and Bulma were present, too. 

Videl clutched Pan’s hand, the poor woman in absolute shock over what she’d just learned. Not only was her only daughter mated for life to a man that Videl had known since he was 8, but she was also pregnant. It was a  _ lot _ . 

And Pan, for her part, noticed the brand new bite mark on her mother’s neck, and the way that Videl had called Gohan  _ mate _ to calm him down. 

“The thing is, son,” Goku told Gohan, “Trunks didn’t really have anything to do with it - these bonds just happen. You know that. He couldn’t help it.”

“Bullshit,” Gohan snapped. “I controlled my urges for 22 fucking years. He could have figured it out.”

Vegeta raised a brow. “Do you really expect me to believe that you resisted giving your mate your bite for more than two decades?”

“It’s true,” Videl said softly, a little embarrassed. “I didn’t even know myself until this week.”

“It drove me fucking crazy,” Gohan added, “but I did it because I didn’t want to hurt her. And because I am more than my Saiyan blood. I’m human, too, and I have no interest in being a slave to my Saiyan blood.”

Vegeta  _ tched _ in disappointment. “Disgraceful. These bonds are rare and sacred among our people, and your resistance was not only futile but also dishonorable.”

“How did you even do that for so long?” Goku asked, bewildered. “I bit Chi-Chi on our wedding night - I can’t imagine holding back for 20 years.”

“It was hell,” Gohan admitted darkly. “But I’m used to holding back and restraining myself. This was just another thing to keep in check.”

“Okay, but,” Bulma piped up, “you  _ did _ give in eventually, which is our whole point. These bonds aren’t exactly created on a volunteer basis, and by the way, Trunks  _ did _ fight it. He’s still super conflicted about it. None of this has been easy for any of us.”

“I don’t give a shit,” Gohan spat, struggling in vain against his bonds. “I’ll kill him for what he did to my daughter.”

Pan flinched a little at the visceral rage in her father’s voice. “Dad,  _ please _ . This is hard enough for me and you’re only making it worse. And besides, what’s done is done - the bond happened, and I  _ am _ pregnant. You’re just gonna have to deal with it.”

“Not to mention,” Vegeta interjected, “if somehow you  _ did _ manage to kill my son, the pain it would cause your daughter would be potentially unbearable. It is not unheard of for grief to cause the death of the surviving mate.”

Bulma shifted on her feet and looked down, remembering how indescribably horrible it had felt when Vegeta had sacrificed himself to defeat Majin Buu. She had known the moment it happened, and the feeling that had ripped through her very soul was one that still haunted her dreams sometimes. She wouldn’t wish it upon her worst enemy. 

Gohan faltered for a moment, his gaze shifting to that of his daughter. Some of the blazing anger dimmed from his eyes, and he groaned, “Pan, he’s - he’ll hurt you. He’s so much older, and -“

“You didn’t care about Goten and Bulla’s age difference,” Pan pointed out. 

“Bulla isn’t my baby!” Gohan replied, his tone taking a desperate edge. “ _ You _ are my baby! I can’t… none of this is right. It’s  _ wrong _ . It’s -“

“But it’s really not,” Goku replied, rubbing the back of his head. He glanced at Vegeta. “Right? Saiyan bonds can’t happen to the wrong people, can they?”

Vegeta scoffed. “Of course not, Kakarot. Trunks and Pan are fated to one another in the same way that I am to Bulma and you are to your woman. And Gohan to Videl.”

“But she’s  _ 21 _ ,” Gohan argued. “She should get a choice! Maybe she doesn’t want to be mated to Trunks for life, and maybe she doesn’t want to have his baby before she’s even graduated college!”

“Maybe you should ask me yourself, Dad!” Pan shouted back, suddenly getting pissed off herself. “You haven’t asked me once how I feel about any of this! You just flew off the handle and went nuts and didn’t give us a chance to explain!”

“She’s right, honey,” Videl nodded to her husband. “However we feel about it, at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter. Pan’s an adult and this is her life. We can’t make decisions for her anymore.”

Gohan stared at Videl in both surprise and visible pain, like it physically hurt him to consider anything but tearing Trunks limb from limb. Still, he kept silent and turned his eyes to Pan, who took a deep breath and centered herself as best she could before speaking. 

“My entire life has been turned upside down in the last week. It’s been horrible and painful but also amazing and… more than words can even really describe. You guys don’t even know the full story yet and I’m not going to tell you right now, but suffice it to say Trunks had no idea what that bite meant at first and neither did I. And now, finding out I’m pregnant… I’m beyond overwhelmed. I don’t even know where to start processing all of this, but I do know one thing - I love Trunks, and I want this bond. I’ve loved him forever and you and Mom both know that. And she’s right - I’m an adult now, Dad. I love you and I know how protective you are, but this isn’t a battle for you to fight. This is my life and my bond.” She paused, taking a shaky breath. “And my baby. You can either accept what’s happened, and accept Trunks as my mate, or you can leave us alone.”

And that was when the fight finally drained out of Gohan. His face gradually fell as he listened to her, and by the time she was done, tears were stinging his eyes and his anger was melting into shame. He looked down at the floor, the room silent until he muttered, “I’m sorry, Pan.”

She didn’t hesitate to go to him and pull him into a hug, replying, “It’s okay, Dad. I love you.”

“I love you too,” he answered fiercely, returning the embrace as much as he could in his current position. “So much, Pan.”

She nodded and pulled away, wiping at her eyes. “You promise you won’t try to hurt him again?”

Gohan grimaced and nodded. “Yes, I promise. I just… need some time, okay?”

“I think we all do,” she chuckled tiredly, then sighed. “Okay.” Then she got to her feet and nodded to Vegeta. “You can let him go now.”

Vegeta eyed her skeptically, but Gohan nodded and met Vegeta’s gaze. “I’m sorry, Vegeta. I was out of line. I’ll go now.”

Vegeta considered that for a moment, eventually giving him a curt nod and turning to Goku. “Kakarot, keep an eye on him. Make sure he keeps his word.”

Goku nodded, and Pan looked to Vegeta shyly before telling him, “Thank you, Vegeta, for all your help.”

Vegeta flushed a little bit, always one to get flustered when his good deeds were recognized at all let alone in front of others. He crossed his arms and looked away, and Pan smiled at his reaction before turning to her mother and pulling her into a hug. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” she whispered to Videl. “I was so scared and I didn’t know what was happening.”

“It’s okay,” Videl assured her, giving her a good squeeze before pulling away and glancing down at her middle. “ _ Wow _ . My baby’s having a baby.”

Pan laughed, and behind her Goku giggled and exclaimed, “Hey, this means I’m gonna be a great grandpa! That’s so cool! And Vegeta!” He wheeled around and beamed at the older Saiyan, “You’re gonna be a grandpa, too! Haha! And here I figured Goten and Bulla would be the first ones to have a baby!”

As Vegeta grumbled under his breath in response, Bulma walked over to Pan and enveloped her in her own hug as she told her, “Welcome to the family, Pan - not that you haven’t always been a part of it already. You have our support no matter what, okay? Anything you ever need, just let me know.”

Pan nodded and gave Bulma a watery smile. “Thank you.”

Bulma then took a deep breath and sighed, “Well, that should be it for the surprise Saiyan bonds. Thank Kami, because I might have a coronary if I have to deal with any more of them.”

When it came to  _ that _ , at least, everyone was in agreement. 

—

Meanwhile, in Bulla’s room, things were so awkward it was giving her a headache. 

Trunks was out on her balcony, arms crossed and glaring out at the horizon, and Bulla was grooming her nails on the edge of her bed while Goten sat on the floor near their feet. The entire time, Goten stared after Trunks like a forlorn puppy scorned by its master, and while Bulla has all the sympathy in the world for them, she quickly got sick of the ridiculous standoff and decided to do something about it. 

_ I’m gonna take a shower, _ she told Goten telepathically.  _ You should probably talk to Trunks while I’m not here to make things more awkward. _

Goten looked up at her in surprise.  _ You sure? If he flies off the handle again I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop him.  _

She shrugged.  _ Just call out to me if he does. I’ll knock him out before he can so much as blink. _

Goten swallowed.  _ Okay _ . 

She reached down and ran her hand across his cheek.  _ It’ll be okay. He loves you, you know. And he needs you.  _

Goten wasn’t sure if he believed that, but he supposed he’d find out soon enough one way or another. Bulla gave him a quick kiss and then got up, disappearing into the bathroom with a quiet  _ click _ , and Goten drew a deep breath and turned his gaze to Trunks. 

It might prove unwise to try this while Trunks was so tense and anxious, but Goten figured tension and anxiety would be present either way no matter when Goten chose to try to hash things out with him. And if he was being honest, he couldn’t stand another minute of inaction. 

Trunks was going through  _ so much _ right now, and Goten was desperate to reach out and be there for him like he always had been. To not be there for him and be so far away was still the most unnatural and painful thing Goten had possibly ever felt, and he  _ needed _ Trunks back in his life with nearly the same intensity he needed Bulla as his mate. 

He stood up and took a deep breath, putting one foot in front of the other and forcing himself to just do it.  _ Rip off the bandaid, _ he told himself. 

Trunks didn’t budge as Goten approached, nor when he came to a halt just behind him. Goten opened and closed his mouth a few times before settling on a quiet, “Hey, Trunks.”

Trunks’ shoulders visibly tensed harder, but otherwise he remained silent and inattentive. Goten swallowed down the urge to panic and abort the mission, forcing his feet to stay where they were. “So, uh… I know you probably still hate me, and I don’t blame you. But I just wanted to let you know that… I’m still here for you, if you need me. If you want to talk or fight or just whatever… I’m always here.”

Trunks still didn’t budge. 

“I miss you,” Goten admitted softly. “More than I can even say. And I’m always gonna be sorry for the way things happened. I know it might not ever be enough. But I hope you can forgive me one day.”

Trunks let out a long breath, but he stayed silent. Goten didn’t speak either, and after a few minutes passed he started to think that Trunks wasn’t gonna say a single word to him. And that was fine, he guessed - he hadn’t expected much anyway. 

But just before he turned to leave, Trunks finally spoke. 

“I hate what you did. To my sister. And to me. I hate the fact that you lied to me for  _ months _ . I hate the fact that my father was so accepting of what happened and how he trains you for hours now every day as if you’re best fucking friends. I hate that this… Saiyan mating bond shit came out of nowhere and turned all our lives upside down. And I really hate that nobody warned us about it.”

Then Trunks finally turned, looking Goten in the eye. Goten’s heart was pounding in his chest, terror seizing his heart as he feared that this would be the moment where Trunks would tell him that he’d never forgive him, and that Goten truly was dead to him. 

“But now I’ve gone and done the same shit as you,” Trunks chuckled humorlessly, wiping at his eyes that were just starting to shine. “Except I fucked one of my best friends just to get some twisted sense of revenge on you. And  _ then _ I mated her, and got her pregnant. So I guess if I ever want anyone to forgive me, I’m gonna have to learn to forgive you first.”

Goten’s eyes widened and hope sprang anew in his heart. “ _ Trunks… _ ”

“Ten,” Trunks muttered, “I’m so fucking scared. I mean, I’m happy - Pan and the baby, they feel… right somehow - but I’m also terrified because  _ what the fuck _ . In a week I went from random one night stands and just fucking off all the time to this, to having a goddamn soulmate I’m gonna be with  _ forever _ and now a baby too, and I wasn’t even sure if I  _ wanted _ to have kids in the first place, but now I feel like I do and like this was always meant to happen but that is  _ batshit _ and I just -“

“Hey, hey,” Goten said softly, closing the distance between them and placing his hands on Trunks’ shoulders to steady him. “I know, man. I’ve been there, besides the baby part. But I know how it feels to have all of this sprung on you and how confusing and weird and  _ amazing _ it is. I think it’s because we’re half human, you know? Half our brain is logical and the other half is full of all these weird instincts that are just popping up out of nowhere, and it - it’s really hard. It really is. But you’re not alone, Trunks. And as scary as it is, you’re gonna be an amazing father.”

“... Am I?” Trunks asked, blue eyes full of genuine fear. “My dad’s hugged me like twice my whole life. How the hell will I even know what to do?”

“Because Pan will be there to help you,” Goten replied with a smile. “And me, and Bulla, and both of our families. And because you’re a good man, Trunks.”

Trunks frowned. “I haven’t been acting like one.”

“I didn’t either, for a long time,” Goten shrugged. “But that’s one thing we  _ can _ learn from your dad. That it’s never too late to learn to be better.” He paused, trying to keep the emotion in his voice steady. “And I hope you’ll let me learn to be a better friend.”

Trunks stared at him for a long moment until he shocked Goten to his core by pulling him in for a tight, warm hug. Goten could have cried in relief - and he might have, just a little bit - and he embraced Trunks back as his heart sang with joy. 

“I’ve missed you, Ten,” Trunks told him. “Sorry I was such a dick.”

“No,  _ I’m _ sorry,” Goten replied, letting out a sigh. “You wouldn’t have done what you did if I hadn’t set you off.”

“Not really an excuse.”

“Either way,” Goten shrugged, pulling away and smiling warmly at Trunks. “Thank you for listening to me and giving me another chance.”

Trunks smiled back, and that was when Bulla made her presence known by cooing from the doorway, “Awww, you guys gonna kiss and make up now?”

Goten grinned back at her, then turned back to Trunks and exaggeratedly puckered up his lips, smacking them loudly a few times as Trunks groaned and pushed his face away. “God, you’re both so damn annoying.”

Goten laughed, feeling like his axis had shifted back into its proper place at last. An enormous burden was lifted from his shoulders, and now he could truly breathe again. He looked from Trunks to Bulla, the two great loves of his life, and he promised himself in that moment that from that point forward, he would never put either relationship at risk again. He needed them both and he always would, and without either one of them he wouldn’t be complete. But with his mate and his best friend at his side, he was stronger and smarter and the best man that he could be. 

Before Trunks walked off, Goten grabbed him and laid an obnoxiously loud kiss on his cheek. “I love you, man,” Goten declared as Trunks squirmed and pushed him away with a smile. 

“Yeah, yeah, love you too, buddy,” Trunks rolled his eyes, and as he walked past Bulla she reached out and grabbed him for her own tight hug and unwanted barrage of cheek kisses. “Ugh, what the fuck!”

“I love you, big brother!” she exclaimed, pressing her cheek to his as he struggled and Goten laughed. “And I can’t wait to be an aunt.”

Trunks stopped squirming at that and threw an arm around her, replying, “Man. That’s gonna take some getting used to.”

“It sure is,” came a soft voice from Bulla’s bedroom door. Trunks turned his head and smiled warmly at his mate as she finally returned, and Goten took his place at Bulla’s side and took her hand while Trunks went to meet Pan halfway. 

“How did it go?” Trunks asked Pan as he pulled her into a hug, making sure to lightly brush his nose against her mark and give them both a little bit of the relaxing effect of it. 

“Better than I expected, honestly,” she replied with a sigh. “My dad calmed down and we talked, and… yeah.” She glanced over Trunks’ shoulder and smiled at Bulla and Goten. “Thank you both for your help. Not just today, but through all of this.”

Bulla nodded and smirked. “Well, hey… we’re all one big happy family now, right? I mean, it kind of feels like we always have been, but now it’s official. Like… super official. You’re basically my sister for real now.”

As Pan beamed at those words, Goten tapped a finger to his lips. “Wait… I’m Pan’s uncle, so does that mean I’m gonna be her kids’  _ great _ uncle?”

“Good ol’ Great Uncle Goten,” Trunks snickered. “Once the gray hairs come in, you’ll look the part, Ten..”

“Oh God, wait,” Pan’s eyes widened. “Since Bulla’s with my uncle now and they’re mated, so basically married, that makes her  _ my _ aunt now.”

Bulla wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, no. I’m going with sister. Aunt is just weird.”

“And then if  _ we _ have a kid,” Goten pondered, “Trunks would be their uncle and Pan would be their… uh… cousin? Second cousin? Wait…”

As Goten’s head threatened to explode, Bulla patted his shoulder and said, “The titles really don’t matter. Pan would be an Aunt in every way that counts. The only thing we have to worry about is making sure our future kids don’t mate  _ their _ kid.”

Trunks shuddered, he and Pan both aghast at the mere suggestion. “Oh Kami, gross,” Pan grimaced. “That… can’t happen, right? Since they’d be related?”

Bulla shrugged. “I dunno. But probably? I’d imagine such an ancient and sacred part of Saiyan biology wouldn’t have such an obvious evolutionary flaw. So we’re probably good. Just… might wanna keep an eye on our hypothetical kids in the future, just in case.”

As everyone stood there digesting that unpleasant idea, Goten blinked and muttered, “And suddenly I can hear banjos playing in the distance.”

Bulla rolled her eyes and Pan laughed despite herself, and Trunks called Goten a dumbass despite chuckling himself. It was a lighthearted end to a chaotic morning that could have turned out far, far worse than it had, and it also marked the start of a new era for both couples. Finally, with all secrets out in the open and wounds in the process of healing, all four Saiyan hybrids could move on and face their futures as they had always been meant to - together. And while those futures were still uncertain, they were a lot less scary now that the four of them were united once again. 


End file.
